Can you tell us a little more about what it was like to revisit that part of your life?
Theres something about first love in general.
Sometimes its not a wonderful experience for people.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Mine was until it wasnt.
And Im a person whos kind of addicted to nostalgia.
It takes me very little to become very nostalgic.
And I felt quite moved at the end.
And I hoped that I was also in some ways paying tribute to him.
Have you worked with Annie before?
What was that experience like?
So Annie really wanted to talk about where I was, and I just really appreciated that.
She just really cared about what I thought about what we were doing.
And I remember thinking, I dont know anything about photography.
You shouldnt care about what I think.
What is that transition in and out of their world and into this world youre creating like?
I just could no longer write fiction, and I struggled for quite a while.
And it felt like being shut out of yourself.
Because I think that the truest self that I have is the self that writes fiction.
And I couldnt reach that self.
And so getting back to writing is a kind of joyous reunification with the self.
But having children also means that you dont have as much time to devote to the work.
And Im a writer whos quite obsessive.
So when Im in, when Im inside my fiction, I dont want to do anything else.
And until I had my daughter, that worked out well.
Romantic love was never a problem.
I could always put it aside to focus on my fiction.
But I feel so fortunate to be a mother.
I think Im a different writer because Im a mother.
What was the key that reopened that for you?
Adichie:I dont actually know.
I mean, nobody alive has ever experienced a proper universal plague.
My experience of the first few weeks was just one of utter surrealness.
And I was terrified that he would bring it home and especially terrified for my daughter.
And then my father died.
My father died weeks into lockdown.
It just really was a very surreal time for me.
Adichie:Theres certain things Im very clear about.
I have to have time with my children every day when Im home.
It doesnt really matter when.
I just make it happen.
It has to happen.
And I think part of it is just the anxiety that comes with that kind of love.
Schama:How does the character first take shape for you?
Is it the name?
Is it the place?
Is it a combination of the two?
Theres a lot that isI think about things obviously, but then theres a lot thats intuitive.
Generally, characters come to me in different ways.
I dont always see them physically.
I know them internally much more than I know them externally.
Schama:Theres a lot of diaspora themes in this new book.
Did you have a handful of places you wanted to put your characters?
Adichie:Sometimes its easiest to write about what one knows.
So you know, theres Nigeria, theres parts of the US.
Philadelphia is a city thats very close to my heart because thats where I went to college.
And I never pass on an opportunity to make fun of New York City.
How are you thinking about your book tour?
What are you wearing?
Adichie:Its interesting because this was actually something that I learned in America.
This idea that the intellectual life is somehow opposed to an interest in appearance really doesnt exist in Nigeria.
Taking care of your appearance was an act of courtesy to other people.
So at some point, you know, I thought, you know what?
I want to wear the high heels because thats actually what I like.
And so I started with high heels, and then I started with color.
Malle:Are there designers that you love?
Adichie:There is a designer calledThe Ladymaker.
Her name is Ifeyinwa Azubike, and shes just really wonderful.
Like Maria Grazia [Chiuri], she likes women.
Theres another designer I really admire calledNkwo.
Im always looking to find new people.
Adichie:You know, there is increasing informality in the American public space that is horrifying to me.
I find myself, when Im in the US, I sort of tilt towards the slub.
And then I said, Wait, America is getting under my skin.
When we are in Nigeria, my daughter dresses better and she decides what she wants to wear.
When were here, she doesnt.
So we have a thing where I say, Are you going to wear one of your raggedy tops?
And then her friend comes to visit, and I think, Youre all raggedy.
This is just terrible.
Malle:Do you dress your twin boys in matching outfits?
Adichie:I do.
Until theyre old enough to decide, I will enjoy it.
Schama:Were obviously in a very tumultuous political climate in many ways.
Adichie:Book bans dont work.
I mean, theyre bad in the sense that theyre disruptive.
But in the end, I really do believe that literature will triumph.
In the end, you cannot ban the human imagination.
Like, the same way that this administration is wiping certain words from government language is sad.
But it will not succeed because you just cannot.
Theres something you cannot kill in the human spirit and imagination.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
