Half of a Yellow Sun

1 About this book

Half of a Yellow Sun is a 2006 novel by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Set in Nigeria in the 1960s, the story follows Ugwu, a teenage houseboy who has moved from his village to work in a university town; his master Odenigbo, a mathematics professor with revolutionary views; and Olanna, the beautiful daughter of a wealthy Nigerian man, with whom Odenigbo is in love. When the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970) breaks out, their lives are thrown into chaos.

The novel explores the traumatic diasporic experience triggered by the war, highlighting the displacement and loss of identity faced by people in a postcolonial land. It criticizes the legacy of British colonization, emphasizing the tension between artificial national borders and the primacy of deep-seated ethnic identities such as those of the Igbo people.

Reactions to the novel upon publication were largely positive, with praise for the novel's characters and its depiction of the Biafran War.

Summary adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Good for readers who want: literary fiction, historical fiction, and a long read.

• Literary fiction
• Historical fiction
• Political fiction
• Nigeria
• Political
• Politics and government
• War
• Modern Literature