Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie tells the
story of the Biafran War that ravaged Nigeria between 1967 and 1970. The story
is told through the lens of five remarkable characters: Olanna, her lover
Odenigbo, his houseboy Ugwu, her twin sister Kainene and her lover, Richard.
Olanna and Kainene come from a privileged Igbo family. Odenigbo is a university professor whom
Kainene refers to as “the revolutionary.” Richard is a white Englishman who
identifies as a Biafran. They each represent the elite. Ugwu, on the other hand
comes from a rural village.
What I love about the book is the depth of the
characters. Chimamanda crafts memorable
and human characters that make the reader love, feel contempt for and empathize
with them all at the same time. Each of
the protagonists is flawed, almost tragically so. They commit seemingly unforgivable acts, but
you never want to write them off. Chimamanda never judges her characters. They are living in the midst of war; you
understand them. War is ugly. It can bring out the worst in people.
I also enjoyed the relationship between the twins, Olanna
and Kainene. Their relationship runs
that gamut of emotions. It starts out tense
because they aren’t as close as they once were.
And then it becomes estranged and
they don’t speak at all. But eventually
the sisters manage to mend fences and regain their relationship. As Kainene states: “There are some things
that are so unforgivable that they make other things easily forgivable” (435).
Chimamanda effectively incorporates the Igbo language into
the text. In doing so, she paints a
vivid picture of the land during a time of war (a war that ended before her
birth). Chimamanda juxtaposes the sights
and sounds before the war with the rigid and bleak conditions during the war. I felt the pain and suffering of the Biafrans.
Chimamanda presents a history lesson
wrapped in a complex and beautiful story.
From reading the book, I learned that the title of Half of a Yellow Sun refers to the
Biafran flag that bore the image of the rising sun in the center.
I really love this book.
Because of the upcoming film adaptation it has been on my radar for a
while.
I am so glad that I finally took
the time to read it. I wholeheartedly recommend that others read it too.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
is a rising literary star and I look forward
to reading her other novels. You can learn more about the novel at it’s
official
Half of the Yellow Sun
website.
You should also check out
Chimamanda on her
website and
facebook
page.
