Half of a Yellow Sun
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By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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WINNER OF THE BAILEYS PRIZE BEST OF THE BEST
Winner of the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2007, this is a heartbreaking, exquisitely written literary masterpiece This highly anticipated novel from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is set in Nigeria during the 1960s, at the time of a vicious civil war in which a million people died and thousands were massacred in cold blood. The three main characters in the novel are swept up in the violence during these turbulent years. One is a young boy from a poor village who is employed at a university lecturer’s house. The other is a young middle-class woman, Olanna, who has to confront the reality of the massacre of her relatives. And the third is a white man, a writer who lives in Nigeria for no clear reason, and who falls in love with Olanna’s twin sister, a remote and enigmatic character. As these people’s lives intersect, they have to question their own responses to the unfolding political events. This extraordinary novel is about Africa in a wider sense: about moral responsibility, about the end of colonialism, about ethnic allegiances, about class and race; and about the ways in which love can complicate all of these things. TweetReviews
A book that looks at the struggles of the Biafran War in Nigeria and how it affected the lives of civilians on different sides of the class spectrum; I really loved how there were no limits to the author's description of events. From lavish parties enjoyed by aristocrats, to village celebrations; from romantic scenes to gruesome violence and sexual abuse, there were times when I thought the description was too much but it only made the story much better!
The Biafran War is a sensitive subject for many Africans, Nigerians especially. So for a book to touch this subject so openly was really audacious. The independence transition stage from the 1960s to 1990s was a really difficult stage for many African countries, and civil wars caused a lot of struggle for countries like Angola, Congo, Rwanda etc. This wonderful piece of writing opened up a field for writers and I'm very interested in seeing whether other authors have tried telling factual history through the art of fictional writing.
Chimamanda Adichie's writing was both very descriptive and fluid. The different character perspectives created a wonderful picture for the reader. Her approach was very brave but I commend her for it.
I'd definitely recommend it to other readers.
