Responding to audience questions at Stylist magazine’s inaugural book club event at the Waldorf Hilton hotel in London, 36-year-old Adichie said Nyong’o had landed the film rights to the novel, which tells the story of a young Nigerian woman who moves to America for a university education.
Americanah was published last year to rave reviews. Adichie’s third book, it is spread across three continents and a multitude of characters, as it examines issues of immigration, identity and human dignity with a witty and provocative eye.
Kenyan-raised Nyong’o, 31, was first linked to the film adaptation in March, when Adichie revealed that the Oscar-winning actress loved the book and “will be making an announcement soon”.
“Lupita was a very early fan of Americanah,” Adichie told Arise Entertainment 360. “And so before she was sort of well-known in the way that she is now, she wrote me … the loveliest email, a very long and passionate email about Americanah.”
Winning the rights is the latest coup for Nyong’o, in a formidable year that has seen her lauded both on-screen with an Academy Award (for Steve McQueen epic 12 Years A Slave) and as an emerging fashion icon thanks to her widely celebrated fashion choices on the red carpet.
Source: www.stylist.co.uk