I'm not crazy about books with disjointed timelines. I can never tell if I'm supposed to be missing implied context or if I actually missed something due to lack of reading comprehension. That nagging feeling that I should go back and reread really cuts into my enjoyment. I'm also terrible remembering character names, and all the unfamiliar names made this even worse. Those two things together made this one tough to get into. 
 That being said, once I muscled my way in (wouldn't have made the effort if this hadn't been a book club pick) I really enjoyed it. Beautiful writing and super interesting perspective on race in the US as seen by a non-American black. I couldn't love Ifemelu the way I prefer to love main characters - (view spoiler)[ in particular I felt bad about the way she treated Curt and Kozi (hide spoiler)] - but I liked her and I was fascinated by her. In the end, not a book I would read again but one I would recommend to others.