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Half of a Yellow Sun

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

(73)

| Paperback | 9780007200283

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Critics

It's off to war she goes

Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Fourth Estate £14.99, pp433 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus, opened with a sentence that saluted Chinua Achebe's best-known novel, Things Fall Apart, by including the words of his ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

The Master and his houseboy

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 391pp, Fourth Estate, £14.99 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's luminous and formidable talent was first seen in Purple Hibiscus, her 2004 novel about a childhood devastated by a religious patriarch, which won ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

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9 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

This was a moving account of relationships with a war torn situation (a war (Nigeria/Biafra) that many of us of a certain generation bearly remember and those of a younger one probably don't even know about) in the background that was heart rending in many ways. It was a bit gorey in places but tha ... (continue)

This was a moving account of relationships with a war torn situation (a war (Nigeria/Biafra) that many of us of a certain generation bearly remember and those of a younger one probably don't even know about) in the background that was heart rending in many ways. It was a bit gorey in places but that is probably the realtity pf war situations. A very interesting read.

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RonYY said on Aug 8, 2007 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

I thought this was brilliant and certainly one of my favourite reads this year. A powerful very emotional novel; written so well by a young author. She has managed to make one actually want to read about a subject as disturbing as ethnic killings because of the realistic portrayals of the main chara ... (continue)

I thought this was brilliant and certainly one of my favourite reads this year. A powerful very emotional novel; written so well by a young author. She has managed to make one actually want to read about a subject as disturbing as ethnic killings because of the realistic portrayals of the main characters Olanna and Odenigbo, their houseboy Ugwu,Kainene(Olanna's twin)and Richard.
A gripping read from cover to cover the story follows their lives during the sixties culminating with the Nigeria-Biafra War of 1967-1970.
Taking the flag of Biafra as a title was I felt very appropriate. As the story progresses through the decade we witness just how much the lives of these middle class characters is changed. So that I am left with a much better understanding of the war and the effect it had on those living in Nigeria and Biafra. These disturbing happenings are images that will stay with you long after finishing the book. It is upsetting to read about such horrors but I think important that novels like this are written, that give us a better understanding of events that happen in other parts of the world. It will certainly make you think and maybe appreciate your life more!

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Lindyloumac said on Sep 28, 2009 | Add your feedback

1 person find this helpful

This book started really well for me, I really got into the characters, but about half way through I just found I was struggling, it could be because suddenly it was less about the characters and more about the war. I always find it really hard to read about war and realise that those things actuall ... (continue)

This book started really well for me, I really got into the characters, but about half way through I just found I was struggling, it could be because suddenly it was less about the characters and more about the war. I always find it really hard to read about war and realise that those things actually happened and are still happening. This is a good book, just not for me.

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Amz310783 said on Jun 1, 2007 | 1 feedback

Unbelievable brilliant. if I could give it more starts, I would.
Her writing is astoundingly good. Her descriptions are perfect. I wish I could write like her.
This is the kind of book I almost wish I hadn't yet read - so that I could read it NOW. I didn't want it to end.

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Lcann563 said on Feb 6, 2012 | Add your feedback

Great book, and a great insight into what happened in Biafra. The writing style is fluid, and gives many perspectives on the conflict.

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adreamine said on May 24, 2010 | Add your feedback

I hate to have "abandoned" any books! But this was a little hard going but I may come back to it some day. It was just not calling my name right now and so many other books are!

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Helen said on Sep 7, 2009 | Add your feedback