title: Half of a Yellow Sun by: Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi published: 2008-11-12 read: preview

Some books stick. Some don’t. I expected different when I read it, but, unfortunately this book fell in the latter category for me. And still, I enjoyed reading it.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a historical novel set in Nigeria during the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, in the late 1960s. The story is told through the perspectives of three different characters: Ugwu, a young houseboy working for a university professor; Olanna, the professor’s mistress; and Richard, a British expatriate and writer. Olanna’s and Richard’s stories focus on love, betrayal, and survival under extreme circumstances, while Ugwu’s grows from a boy to a war-hardened man.

Adichie combines personal with political. Rather than in-depth historical descriptions, we experience the war through personal narratives. It gives a good view of the era, from the privileged intellectuals to the impoverished villagers. And detailed descriptions of the events and conditions during the war.

Much pain in this novel, much life, many beautiful characters, and tragedy.  It’s a book about a war, or the civilians around it, about life in war, about loss, love, life.  And that makes it a strong recommendation from me, probably because it has historic connotations of a country,  a part of the world, I know nothing about.

But then… a month later I forgot I read it.