Notes on Grief : Book review


Book review

Title: Notes on Grief
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Genre: Non fiction/Memoir

Notes on Grief is a moving account of a sorrowful daughter written after her father’s sudden demise.

One fine day in June, author Adichie received news about her father’s death. A father whom she had laughed and joked with just a day ago.  It chronicles her emotions and feelings of coping with this irreparable loss. As she recollects memories, she gives her glimpse of her father’s life and his influence on her upbringing. 

Much of the book is focuses on the interiority of the author. There is a great deal of pain, shock, denial  and loneliness. It entwines readers into the mind of the author and makes them experience an avalanche of emotions. While reminiscing about her father, she realizes how laughter and sorrow are intertwined in a strange manner. 

The honesty in the way she owns down her thoughts strikes a chord. Especially when she expresses her longing  to bring him back from the dead, so that she could get that one more chance to express her love and gratitude.The language is poetic, beautiful and haunting. This epistolary narrative  showcases how writing can be cathartic and a healer especially while dealing with trauma. 

Being set around the time of the pandemic last year, this book is bound to resonate with many people who have lost a near or dear one. Notes on Grief is intense and intimate. It is bound to make you reach out for that box of tissues.

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