Half of a Yellow Sun

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

With her award-winning debut novel, Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was heralded by the Washington Post Book World as the “21st century daughter” of Chinua Achebe. Now, in her masterly, haunting new novel, she recreates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria during the 1960s.

With the effortless grace of a natural storyteller, Adichie weaves together the lives of five characters caught up in the extraordinary tumult of the decade. Fifteen-year-old Ugwu is houseboy to Odenigbo, a university professor who sends him to school, and in whose living room Ugwu hears voices full of revolutionary zeal. Odenigbo’s beautiful mistress, Olanna, a sociology teacher, is running away from her parents’ world of wealth and excess; Kainene, her urbane twin, is taking over their father’s business; and Kainene’s English lover, Richard, forms a bridge between their two worlds. As we follow these intertwined lives through a military coup, the Biafran secession and the subsequent war, Adichie brilliantly evokes the promise, and intimately, the devastating disappointments that marked this time and place.
Epic, ambitious and triumphantly realized, Half of a Yellow Sun is a more powerful, dramatic and intensely emotional picture of modern Africa than any we have had before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Oct 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9780307373540

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction; and acclaimed story collection The Thing Around Your Neck. Americanah, was published around the world in 2013, received numerous awards and was named one of New York Times Ten Books of the Year. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Reviews for Half of a Yellow Sun

[novelcommentary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The World Was Silent When We Died. Adechie is an excellent writer. After discovering Americanah, her more recent work, I wanted to go back to her earlier novel about the Nigerian/Biafran war which took place between 1967-70. Adechie has relatives that fought and died in that brief quest for freedom where starvation became the weapon of choice and her book is dedicated to them and to those that lived. As a character in her books states: "Grief was the celebration of love, those who could feel real grief were lucky to have loved."The novel explores this time period through several narrators, using this technique to provide various points of view. We first meet Ugwa who is given the gift of being hired as a houseboy for Odinigbo, or master. This is a gift because this will provide a nice life for a poor village boy. Odinigbo teaches at the university and has many evening parties where the educated come to discuss the events of the country. Ugwa is encouraged to attend school and learned quickly from the conversations he overhears. "“There are two answers to the things they will teach you about our land: the real answer and the answer you give in school to pass. You must read books and learn both answers. I will give you books, excellent books.” Olanna is a Nigerian born wealthy beauty, "There was something polished about her voice, about her; she was like the stone that lay right below a gushing spring, rubbed smooth by years and years of sparkling water, and looking at her was similar to finding that stone, knowing that there were so few like it." She falls in love with Odinigbo and becomes part of the narrative and Ugwa's life. Finally there is Richard, a white Englishman who takes up the cause of the Igbo people and takes up residence with Olanna's twin sister, Kainene. The novel goes on to explore the life and loves of all these individuals, their infidelities and their fates. Once the setting has been established, we are then led through the conflict, seeing first hand the plight of the Biafran people, and an ill fated war. Some of the characters are historically accurate and this adds to the understanding of this event. Though in the novel it appears that Richard will write the great book about this conflict, there is a nice twist as to who in fact pens the book that so accurately depicts this time : The World Was Silent When We Died.But it is, in fact, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie who has accomplished this. Highly recommend this novel and author. Some quotes:Ugwu had imagined the bald woman: beautiful with a nose that stood up, not the sitting-down flattened noses that he was used to. He imagined quietness, delicacy, the kind of woman whose sneeze, whose laugh and talk, would be soft as the underfeathers closest to a chicken’s skin.Here was a superior tongue, a luminous language, the kind of English he heard on Master’s radio, rolling out with clipped precision. It reminded him of slicing a yam with a newly sharpened knife, the easy perfection in every slice.“You know we soldiers wear boots all the time so they examined the feet of each man, and any Igbo man whose feet were clean and uncracked by har-mattan, they took away and shot. They also examined their foreheads for signs of their skin being lighter from wearing a soldier’s beret.”

[lukes_171461 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't really know how to rate this book. As most political novels do, this was widely hailed on publication. I found its perspective on the famine forced upon the Biafran population by the Nigerian government different and interesting, because it is personal and somewhat oblique. Otherwise we have capable storytelling of one small group's participation in the horror of the Biafran war for independence.I guess I don't approach fiction with much of a political mindset. If the praise, by contrast, is for the artistic merits of the book divorced from its subject matter, then I become confused. If books that deal with events such as these is your cup of tea, then this will fulfill your desire.

[patl_53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A powerful and well written novel about the Nigeria/Biafra civil war. Adichie is an astounding writer, advanced beyond her years.

[eilonwy_anne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus, so I picked up her second, more ambitious book. It's set before and during the Nigerian-Biafran War of 1967-1970.I don't call this book more ambitious than Purple Hibiscus just because it tackles a war within living memory. It has multiple points of view, and executes a few small chronological jumps. Each of the point-of-view characters, who differ in age, race, gender and class, traces a believable and human arc. This is no small feat, and Adichie pulls it off handily. Adichie's writing style is a little hard to describe. It doesn't draw attention to itself with virtuosic description, but it's very effective: she puts the right word in the right place, and is very adept at choosing the perfect detail to make a scene or moment come to life.The book starts out with a rather leisurely pace and following the most naive POV character, the houseboy Ugwu. This allowed a non-Nigerian reader like me to get her bearings, and then ensured I really knew the characters and cared about them before larger events began to affect their lives. The book is very moving, and occasionally hard to read. Even though I knew it was coming, the first outbreak of violence was shocking, an almost physical shock. She does a beautiful job of showing us large events through individual lives.Adichie tells a complex and disturbing story with a large, vivid cast, and draws it to an ending that feels true. A remarkable book.Notes on the audiobook: The narrator, Robin Miles, was amazing. She apparently won an award for this recording, and I'm not surprised: she does great voices of all ages, both genders, with accents from Alabama, small Nigerian villages, London, and combinations thereof. That's on top of great diction and dramatic sense. I may have a new favorite narrator (sorry, Davina Porter.)

[jenloo82 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Powerful. Complex. Terrifying.

[munchie13 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Easily one of the best books I have ever read. The story was intricate - I enjoyed the non-linear timeline, especially because it was so seamless I didn't even notice at first. The characters were all rich and the author did not shy away from difficult topics/actions that may cause readers to dislike them. The relationships between characters were complicated and felt more "real" than the simplified relationships in many other stories. 10/10 recommend.

[bell7_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the 1960s, a group of idealistic academics get together to talk about Nigeria and the direction their country is going. Odenigbo hosts, and his girlfriend Olanna, her family, and his houseboy Ugwu all get caught up in the tumultuous events of Biafran independence and the ensuing war.Though it's a sweeping tale covering several years, Adichie focuses so brilliantly on her characters that the reader is drawn in to their lives, dreams, and events that affect them specifically. In part, she drew on her parents' experiences during the Biafran war, and though she mentions in the author's note that she didn't always stay historically accurate for the sake of the story, Adichie clearly has done her research and includes a page-long bibliography for anyone interested in following up and reading more. I knew nothing of these events, but could still follow the story and the raw human drama and emotion she brings out in these characters. I may not quite be able to bring myself to read it again, but I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or literary fiction with strong character development.

[brangwinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, what a great story with the creation and downfall of Biafra. Adiche tells the story of the creation and the violence of this time in Nigeria through love stories that make the reader feel they have been there. At times I wanted to put the book down, the violence was so horrendous. This history revolves around te tribal loyalties of Muslims and Christians. Of all the books I’ve read about Nigeria, this book is the most memorable.

[whitewavedarling · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although it doesn't quite have the same immediacy and power of Purple Hibiscus, this is still a striking, worthwhile read. Perhaps inevitably, especially early on, one of the characters at the center of the book pulled me in more than others, and one put me off somewhat. Yet, by the end of the book, the story as a whole felt more cohesive and I no longer felt disappointed when I turned a page to discover the next chapter's focus. The second part of the book did lag some--Adichie moves between the early sixties and the late sixties, by part, and the first section that jumps forward is slower, to the extent that I almost felt as if I was beginning the book anew and felt let-down. As with the viewpoints, though, the structure evens out and becomes a strength of the book as the war comes more into focus.As in her other work, Adichie's prose is graceful and brutal--it doesn't exaggerate suffering, but it also doesn't flinch. With its focus centered on the Nigeria-Biafra war, that means this is not an easy read. At the same time, her characters are themselves believable and flawed, almost painfully real. And, because of all of this, Half of a Yellow Sun is a stand-out book that should be read, and passed along.Recommended.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amazing reconstruction of Biafra and its hideous war with Nigeria!Characters did not move as forcefully as the plot:Ugwu was ultimately disappointing as he predictably abandoned Baby, got conscripted, killed people,and gang raped a young girl. Many readers would have exchanged his disappearance for Kainene's.Richard's impotence with his lover is never explained or resolved.Olanna sleeping with him was way improbable and stalled the action.Odenigbo oddly loses his force following his Mother's death.Returning to the early 60s was at first confusing, then intriguing.Some people have responded that genocide is best treated as a civil war not to be interfered with by outsiders.I wonder what Jesus and Buddha would have to say...

[chellebearss · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this novel even though I don't know much of the history behind the book. As with any book based on conflict it will pull at your heartstrings quite a bit! I was impressed with Adichie's story telling abilities. She made the history portions seem completely part of the story and if you didn't know that this was based on true events you could believe that this was a complete work of fiction.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this book which was narrated by the stage actress Zainab Jah. She did a terrific job and it really added to the experience of the book to have her voicing the characters in, what seems to me, authentic accents. This book takes place in Nigeria during the 1960s and culminates when the Biafran nation is overcome by the better armed and financed Nigerian soldiers. I did not know much about the Biafran war and the quest for independence of an Igbo nation until this book and I thought the author did a fantastic job of bringing that period to life.Nigeria consists of a number of different tribes, chief among them the Igbo and Hausa tribes who have long been in conflict. The Igbo seem to be the monied and intellectual class which causes them to be resented by the others. The story centres on twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene, daughters of a rich merchant who have been educated in England. When they return to Nigeria Olanna becomes a professor in the Igbo university while Kainene goes into the fathers business in Port Harcourt. Olanna moves in with her Igbo lover, Odenigbo, who is a professor of mathematics. Kainene refers to him as Olanna's revolutionary lover because Odenigbo and his friends gather in the house most nights to talk about politics and reform. Kainene has a white British man, Richard, as a lover. He lives in the same town as Olanna and Odenigbo while he tries to write a book about Nigeria. The other main character is Odenigbo's houseboy, Ugwu, who comes to work as an uneducated village boy but with support from his master (as he calls Odenigbo) he goes to school, learns to read and write and becomes fascinated by the talk of the people who gather in his master's house. He is fiercely supportive of Olanna and very protective of the little girl raised by Olanna and Odenigbo who is called Baby throughout the book. There is an incident that drives Olanna and Kainene apart until the late days of the Biafran war. As the whole world knows the poverty in Biafra was extreme and even privileged people like the sisters and their lovers scramble for food. They are also both driven out of their homes by the invading Nigerian forces. Olanna and Odenigbo actually have to moves a number of times, each time ending up in a place worse than the previous. Finally they are taken in by Kainene and Richard and the sisters finally achieve a rapprochement. For a while Ugwu was missing having been captured by Biafran soldiers needing fresh recruits. Ugwu learned to make and detonate a crude explosive device and killed a number of opposing soldiers until he was badly injured himself. His experiences as a soldier haunt him as do all the deaths and rapes that occurred during the war to people he loved. Although Richard never completes his book Ugwu writes one that documents the war experience. This is a powerful book telling a powerful story. It truly deserves a place on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a novel of twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene which follows them through the Biafran conflict in Nigeria in the sixties. It has really been highly praised by critics. I agree that Adichie does a good job of weaving the romantic and family issues with a compelling historical background. But in my opinion, her technique of episodically following four (or five) different characters doesn't allow her to very richly develop any one of them. I didn't feel well-connected to any of the characters, unlike my experience with her previous novel,"Purple Hibiscus" or her recent book of short stories, which were both brilliant. I would still recommend the book; I just don't think it's as astounding as some critics have claimed.

[reallifereading · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Adichie continues to amaze me with her writing. I loved Purple Hibiscus, but Half of a Yellow Sun far surpasses that, especially her ability to write from three very different points of view, without throwing the story off balance. The three characters' tales segue almost seamlessly into this gorgeous novel. I forgot all about reading my other books and kept my nose firmly in this book until it was finished. It was moving and completely compelling, even though I was at first hesitant about reading a book about this war which I knew nothing about.

Read it!

[seriousgrace · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of five individuals during the short time of Biafra's attempted secession from Nigeria in the early '60s. First is Ugwu, a young village boy sent to be the servant of a university mathematics professor. He knows his situation in Professor Odenigbo's home is very good compared to other servant boys so he is careful not to "rock the boat" but all the while he keeps his ears and eyes open. His is a coming of age story of sorts. Professor Odenigbo is passionate and outspoken about the plight of the African continent, especially when it comes to political influences. Despite his strong opinions he is easily dominated by his mother. This weakness leads to his undoing, starting with his romance with Olanna. Olanna's relationship with Odenigbo defies her parents and their thinly veiled wish for her to be used as a pawn to marry wealth or royalty. Her strength comes from acceptance and forgiveness. Much like her twin sister, Kainene. Kainene has defiantly fallen in love with very British and very white, Richard Churchill. While the twins appear to be very different from one another they share the same underlying vulnerabilities. Finally, there is Kainene's Richard Churchill. He has come to Nigeria to write a book about Igbo art. Instead he finds himself caught up in the secession and hoping to immerse himself in the new Biafra as one of its new citizens. Then there is the violence of war...Swirling around these characters are issues of race, identity, and sense of belonging. There is one poignant scene when Richard admits to never feeling danger despite being in the midst of a brutal massacre. His white skin allowed him to remain outside the violence. Even his romance with an Igbo woman did nothing to threaten his sense of being merely an innocent outsider.

[cygnet81 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Such unbelievable hardship and such strength.

[missizicks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I didn't know what to expect from this book. It is very sobering. I found it difficult to read at times, the descriptions of what went on during the Biafran War are so honest and un-sensationalised and brutal. I loved it, though. I thought the characters were believable. I appreciated the way Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie knew that most of her readership probably wouldn't know much about the Biafran War, or the social and political structures in Nigeria, but didn't patronise us in the way she presented the background that we needed. Olanna and her sister Kainene on the surface are the main characters in the novel, but for me the heart of the story was Ugwu. He was the most interesting, and I loved how he discovered his own voice as the novel progressed.

[the_hibernator · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Half of a Yellow Sun takes place in Nigeria during the Nigeria/Biafa civil war. The narrative follows 3 characters: Ugwu, a village boy who is taken in by some politically-inclined academics as a house boy; Olanna, Ugwu's mistress and a rich heiress; and Richard, a British expat who desperately wants to be accepted by the Biafrans as one of them. The stories of these three characters are superbly and tragically woven together on a backdrop of war, racial hatred, and famine. This is one of the most impressive books I've read in quite a while. The characters were so deep that I felt I knew them. The events described had an eerie realism to them that comes from the author's intimate knowledge of the history and people. This is one of those books that makes you feel like every incident described is important and well-planned. This is a story not only of war, but of people--their dreams, their loves, their fears, their strengths and weaknesses. Half of a Yellow Sun is a must-read for anyone interested in international literature.

[britt84 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An amazing book, beautiful story, impressive and touching.I haven't read many African novels, and my knowledge of African history is very limited, but I did very much enjoy this book. It tells the story of two sisters, Olanna and Kainene, in the time of the Nigerian-Biafran civil war. The story is told in four parts, two parts before the beginning of the war and two parts during and at the end of the war; the different chapters are told by different characters.By allowing different characters to tell the story Adichie gives us quite a complete view of the war and what it means for different people, and how different people react to the war.Important issues that are touched upon are the history of Nigeria and the influence of the white colonists, and how the country is trying to become part of the modern world. It shows common prejudices that are held within the country, both amongst the white people as wel as amongst the different tribes.As the war breaks lose, the happy and carefree lives of Olanna and Kainene collapse and turn into chaos and hardship. Adichie describes the troubles of war, the displacement of people, the massacres and the hunger in a very vivid and real way, and it really gives you a good idea of what the war meant.Especially when Ugwu, one of the main characters, is forced to join the army, and Olanna and Kainene start working in a refugee center, the war really hits home. On top of that, Adichie leaves us to consider the atrocities that are committed, and how in a war we all become different people, and how everybody might be capable of committing terrible acts...

[cbl_tn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you want to learn about the short-lived Republic of Biafra, you could turn to a history or reference work for the facts. If you want to know what it felt like to live there, read Half of a Yellow Sun. The novel covers the decade of the 1960s, first in a newly independent Nigeria and then in the Republic of Biafra, which declared its independence from Nigeria in 1967. The story alternates between three perspectives: that of Ugwu, a teenage houseboy newly transplanted from his village to a university town; that of Olanna, a beautiful woman from a privileged background who is in love with a revolutionary university professor; and Richard, an expat from the U.K. who falls in love first with Igbo culture and then with Kainene, Olanna's non-identical twin. Ugwu longs for his master, Odenigbo's respect. Richard longs for Kainene's love. Olanna wants the love and approval of both her lover Odenigbo and her twin Kainene, but it seems like it's not possible to have both at once.I was hesitant to read a novel about such bleak topics as war and famine, thinking it would be too emotionally and psychologically heavy for me to read. My fears were unfounded. While the characters faced some horrible situations, they were strong and resilient. The conditions they faced during the war exposed both their weaknesses and their virtues. Although the three central characters came from very different backgrounds, they had in common a high value of education and literature. More than anything else, I think the belief in the importance of literature and learning is what connected me to the characters in the book. Highly recommended.

[bodachliath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A devastating, unflinching and deeply personal book that tells the story of Biafra and the Nigerian civil war of the late 60s, full of humanity and wisdom. Along with the bigger picture of the war, the famine and the ultimately doomed idealism of the Igbo separatists, Adichie interweaves a beautifully paced and moving family story.

[quibee · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This follows the viewpoint of three people, set just before and during the Biafran conflict at the end of the 1960s.
This is a story of relationships in the middle of a dreadful historical event and puts faces and voices into something that is a dimly remembered disaster for most of the rest of the world.
Touching and heart-wrenching.

[karin7-11 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In this book we follow five characters via three points of view in both the early and late 1960s before and during the secession of Biafra from Nigeria. We start off when Ugbu is taken by his aunt to be the houseboy for Odenigbo, a professor with revolutionary ideals, and as we see each person's POV, the story moves forward, although it does do a 4 part system where we see the first part of the early 60s, the first part of the revolts and secession, then the second parts of each of those. The second POV we see is that of Olanna, the intelligent and beautiful daughter of a powerful man who moves in with Odenigbo. Her fraternal twin, Kainene, a strong person who is not as beautiful as her sister ends up romantically linked with the third POV character, Richard. Richard is an English writer drawn to Nigeria first by his love of the beauty of old artistic finds as well as the country.

The lives of these five naturally intertwine to one degree or another throughout the years, and we see how actions by other family members and friends along with the the horrors of the war change each of them both individually and in their relationships with each other.

Adichie has an amazing ability with words and captures a great deal with them. This is a powerful book. However, I am unable to give it a 5 because, honestly, once removed from the book and factoring in the different culture, there was nothing spectacularly new about human nature or how she spent so much time on the brutality of the war and its devastating effects. In fact, I could only read so much per day before I had to put the book down and move on to read something else and it didn't keep me up to all hours of the night wanting to see what came next.

[blackhornet_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A brilliant novel with brilliant characterisations. I also really enjoyed how the narrative switched back and forth between a time before and during the Biafran conflict. I'm not sure in my own mind how this affects the novel's impact as a piece of war fiction. The waste of life is evident, but does the complacency and idealism of the university characters make them complicit in what happened, or is their early existence something to aspire to, something that would stopped the war if more thought along the same lines. Of course, the author does not let us know, but I found it a little frustrating not to be clear in my own mind. In part I think this was because of a lack of characters drawn in detail from more humble beginnings. Ugwu the houseboy does not count because he aspires in every way to be like his master. Superb novel then, from a superb storyteller; but just a bit more on the historical context, more characters from all sides and this could have added up to an African 'War and Peace'.

[deebee1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A portrayal of the crippling civil war following the secession of the Igbo people to form the independent nation of Biafra in eastern Nigeria in the 1960s. I bought this book because I was intrigued by the many raves and the recommendations in LT, but i'm afraid i belong to the tiny minority who are lukewarm to the novel, not finding it an exceptional work. The theme is without doubt noteworthy, and we feel the misery, the loss, the brutality of war, but Adichie's approach and treatment of the subject didn't leave much of an impact overall. I didn't like that the book didn't seem to know what to get at even after 150 pages. It does get a bit better, and picked up much later but only towards the end. We meet the characters often, we see what's happening in their lives, it gives us a semblance of knowing them, but we never get to know them deeply because they do not engage us, we do not see into their psyche. Also, Adichie perhaps in her attempt to depict the "humanness" of the main characters (she calls it "emotional truth") overemphasizes their weakness instead so that they become very irritating -- for example, the characterization of Richard, the white man, as the spineless, needy and sniveling type, is repeated a lot of times that it becomes well, boring. Same thing with Olanna (one of the twin sisters) -- Adichie doesn't seem to have a very clear idea of how to portray her. I also found it disconcerting that the book doesn't give the reader the context, a background of events (historical and political) before the war unleashed -- the anchor is just not there, the reader gropes for an understanding but doesn't find it (in an almost 500-page book at that). Those many meetings by the academics and intellectuals at Odegnibe's house would have been very good venues for the author to provide this necessary background, but Adichie did not explore this -- we know what drinks these people liked, what hobbies they had, we know they made a lot of noise but we never get to know their opinions, their ideologies, their politics -- and they were supposed to represent the core intellectual and revolutionary elite on the verge of momentous events. Somehow it just doesn't connect. Overall, i felt there was a lot of "noise" in this novel, a hesitation to challenge the reader to think, to reflect, there is plenty of skirting around without touching on a core theme, a lack of focus and depth. And she didn't seem to know how to end the book either...it seems to want to project uncertainty (with Keinene still missing) but is uncertain how to go about it, quite weak i should say. I'm glad I read it though -- it made me want to learn more about Biafra.

[mbmackay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A novel set in the Biafran war era of Nigeria's history (late 60s) written by a Nigerian writer too young to have lived through the events. Told in broad brush-strokes by the actions of the main characters (Adichie says her aim is "to show, not tell") the result is powerful. Maybe the war is such a horror that any attempt to explain, through an omniscient narrator, what people were thinking would be a failure. A good book by an author to watch for the future. Read September 2009.

[sjmccreary · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the powerfully told story of the Biafran War in Nigeria in the late 1960's. Following its independence from Britian in 1960, the different ethnic groups in Nigeria began experiencing more and more conflict among themselves as Nigeria struggled to establish itself among the nations of Africa and the world. In 1967, the Igbo people in the southeastern part of the country seceeded and declared themselves to be the independent State of Biafra, triggering a 3-year civil war which ended in Biafra being reabsorbed back into Nigeria. During the war, the Igbo people suffered terribly from famine, starvation and attacks from an overwhelming military force. This war was the source of many of the heart-wrenching photos of starving African children that were published in the US during that time.The novel tells the story of the conflict from the point of view of 5 Biafran people: Ugwu, a village boy who becomes the houseboy of university professor Odenigbo. Odenigbo's lady friend, Olanna, is from a wealthy family and is London-educated and moves in with him and they eventually marry. Olanna's twin sister, Kainene, is a tough, no-nonense business woman who takes Richard, an English writer, as her lover. These 4 Igbo people flee their homes in the northern part of the country when the Hausa's begin a series of massacres of ethnic Igbo's. Richard, obviously not Igbo, still considers himself to be Biafran and works as hard to support their independence as anyone else.I thought the book was excellent. Adichie manages to convey the horrors of war, the ravages of famine and starvation, the fear and uncertainity of being forced to flee from one location to another, leaving home and possessions behind, not knowing the fate of loved ones, the frustration of dealing with the bureaucracy of relief efforts, and the humiliation of needing to beg and depend on the generosity of strangers for food in a realistic manner without being too oppressive. She also shows us the optimism of belief in a just cause, the generosity of the destitute sharing what little they have, the corruption of power, and the guilt of deeds done. I came away with the feeling that life is uncertain, nothing is guaranteed. Bad things can happen to anyone, and love and happiness can be found anywhere. I highly recommend the book.

[cestovatela · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This novel was a bit of a disappointment after all the hype. It starts out strong, introducing us an interesting, well-balanced cast of characters. In the interview included in the epilogue of the book, Adichie says she wanted to write characters who didn't fully understand themselves and she accomplishes this goal very well. The way that each character acts on impulse and instinct makes them such realistic people. But, although Adichie shines in creating their every day pre-war lives, the book faltered when it reached Nigeria's civil war. The characters' weaknesses and histrionics make them a bit annoying, especially as it seems that they're coming through the war unscathed (though a bit hungry and suffering from substandard housing). The real story to me seemed to be the countless ordinary people starving to death and dying of disease in refugee camps, but they stay on the periphery of the book. I spent the whole time waiting for a Truly Bad Thing to happen to one of the main characters and when it finally did, it lacked the resonance I expected. I do recommend this book because it's a chapter of African history few of us are familiar with, but I don't think it deserves all of its acclaim.

[nancynova · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

from the 8/11 abxc meetup; historical fiction about the Nigerian-Biafra war, from the side of the losers. The book follows 5 protagonists: twins Olanna & Kainene, Olanna's black revolutionary lover Odenigbo, Kainene's white British lover, Richard, and Odenigbo's houseboy Ugwa. Set in the early 1960's leading up to the conflict, and the late 1960's during the conflict, the story has triumphs, strengths and despair. Ugwa is conscripted as a soldier and is forced with peer pressure, to do unthinkable things. Olanna and Odenigbo wind up in a refugee camp. And Kainene winds up trying to run a refugee camp and trading with the black market to keep people from starving, only to be unexplainably lost at the end of the war. And Richard is a white man in a black country, who doesn't really fit. Odenigbo's return to the university after the war stirs some thoughts. What should the position of a revolutionary who was on the losing side be after the war?

[gregorymose · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I almost wish I had another star to give this one. Set in Nigerian in the 1960's, the book focusses on the lives of five very different people against the backdrop the the Biafra conflict. You don't need to know much of Nigerian history to enjoy this book - the focus is not on a specific war, or even on war in general, but rather on the lives and emotional conflicts of the characters. Adichie's writing ranks with the best, and in its unpretentious elegance blows away many of our own overly lauded literary luminaries. I wish more contemporary American writers would read this book and learn something from it. Clear and vidid prose, complex characters and an interesting and tangible storyline beat recondite vocabulary, quasi-intellectual supernaturalism and a distracting clutter of pop-cultural references any day. This is how a novel should look. My only real quibble is with the character of Richard, an Englishman who marries an Igbo woman and takes part in the Biafran cause. I'm glad Adichie included him, but is is clumsy and two-dimensional when compared with the other characters, and one can feel that he is there more for political motives than literary ones. Otherwise an amazing read. I was sorry when it was over.