Half of a Yellow Sun

 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has to be one of my favourite authors. Successful, independent and a feminist worth listening to, not to mention her knack for writing a good read.

 

I was hooked on her after reading Americanah. Half of a Yellow Sun tells the story of the Biafran War (also known as the Nigerian Civil War) through the eyes of three protagonists; Olanna, Ugwu, and Richard. Based in Nigeria, the lives of the main characters drastically change and are torn apart by the civil war and decisions in their personal lives.

 

Adichie has done a fantastic job of explaining the perspective from a young houseboy originally from a rural village, a successful and independent career Nigerian woman and a British writer starting fresh in Nigeria. I could not put this book down. The honesty and raw emotion captured makes you engage with the characters more as you keep wishing for another alternative as the war is continuously prolonged. This book has encouraged me to read more about the Nigerian Civil War, being Adichie’s intention all along. It’s very close to her heart having several older family members involved in the war.

 

On a side note, if you have a spare 30mins Adichie’s TedTalk (We should all be feminists) is incredible, insightful and very powerful. It’s also available as a book purchase through Amazon Kindle for about $2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc 

 

Purple Hibiscus is the next novel of hers waiting on my bookshelf.