Half of a Yellow Sun
In 1960s Nigeria, Ugwu, a boy from a poor village, goes to work for Odenigbo, a radical university professor. Soon they are joined by Olanna, a young woman who has abandoned a life of privilege to live with her charismatic lover. Into their world comes Richard, an English writer, who has fallen for Olanna s sharp-tongued sister Kainene. But when the shocking horror of civil war engulfs the nation, their loves and loyalties are severely tested, while their lives pull apart and collide once again in ways none of them could have imagined...
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Community Reviews
This was my first foray into the prolific works of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Her treatment of the subject of the Nigeria Civil war between 1967 and 1970 gives us a look at the period from the view points of two Igbo sisters raised with privilege but becoming wise to another life experience, a self-proclaimed revolutionary university professor who believes in socialism/tribalism over capitalism, and a white journalist in love with one of the sisters but struggling with the reality that he can never fully understand her experience. The story is peppered with themes of post-colonial fallout, patriotism and politics, and relationships and marriage roles.
plot starts off a little dry but the passage was super visual, graphic, enlightening. Kind of a painful read in the way where you’re eyes are pried open to the reality of the past
This is my second time reading this book. There is something about chimamanda, the way she writes, the way her writing transports you to a whole new dimension. I have never been to the east, neither did I witness the civil war but yet I feel all the emotions like I'm there as if I am running alongside kainene to the underground bunks, and even the sex scene. Chimamanda writes sex scenes like someone who has actually had sex. This book helps you to understand the Igbos more, why they are the way they are, and why they do what they do. You see how the genocide has changed their lives and you also admire their resilience, their strength and faith in themselves that breeds excellence. Did I already mention that I'm in love with Chimamanda?
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