'Never Look an American in the Eye' by Okey Ndibe

I  thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was funny, instructive, and brutally honest even to the point of self-deprecation. The author told the stories with an ease reminiscent of after-dinner storytime rituals, which is a feature in most Nigerian homes. The humour and relaxed style of writing draws in the reader and makes it easy to forgive the use of highfaluting words where their 'lowly' synonyms could have easily sufficed.

It tells a story of the contrast between the Nigerian and American cultures. The stereotypes, misconceptions and culture shock that is wont to beset a 'Johnny just come' to either location. He gives the experience of his first winter in America, his first experience of paying for an outing he didn't initiate, and how the police mistook him for a bank robber. 

 He recounts the bittersweet experience of editing a magazine (African Commentary Magazine) that was widely acclaimed for its content but perpetually dallied on the brink of collapse.

One way to look at this book is as a travelogue that takes the writer on a voyage from being Nigerian, being a Nigerian in America, to being Nigerian American.