Notes on Grief is Adichie’s deeply personal memoir that seems to serve as a medium for her to grieve her father’s passing. It is a compilation of short essays as she grapples with the sudden loss of her father in the chaotic summer of the 2020 covid-19 pandemic.
It feels strange to comment on what is clearly a deeply personal memoir for the author. Yet, I can’t help but say that it is a beautiful and evocative piece of literature, that it achieved its goal for me as the reader. I felt the big and uncomfortable emotions. Throughout the book, I either had a smile on my face or I had fat tears streaming down my cheeks. That is Adichie’s mastery of the language along with the fierce love for her father.
The human condition unites us in our consideration of death and the loss of loved ones, which is what makes Notes on Grief universal.
I began reading this book in January when I was at home in India. Then, all of a sudden I lost somebody very dear to me and my family. And it was difficult to continue reading this book. So I picked it up again last weekend. Notes on Grief was the first book I read by Adichie. And I will be coming back for more of her work.