Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Half of a Yellow Sun with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a gripping novel set against the backdrop of the Nigerian Civil War in the 1960s, when the Igbo people attempted to secede from Nigeria to found the Republic of Biafra. The novel depicts the ravages of war as seen through the eyes of a handful of mostly Igbo characters, whose personal lives become inextricably intertwined with the fate of their country. Half of a Yellow Sun won the 2007 Orange Prize for Fiction, and a film adaptation starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Thandie Newton was released in 2014. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of the most influential Nigerian writers active today, and has published a variety of novels, short stories and nonfiction works. Her debut novel Purple Hibiscus was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:

• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Jun 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808002240

Book preview

NIGERIAN WRITER

Born in Enugu (Nigeria) in 1977.

Literary awards:

Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction, 2007 (for Half of a Yellow Sun)

National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, 2013 (for Americanah)

MacArthur Genius Grant, 2008

Notable honours:

Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected in 2017)

Notable works:

Purple Hibiscus (2003), novel

The Thing Around Your Neck (2009), short story collection

Americanah (2013), novel

We Should All Be Feminists (2014), essay

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie grew up in the world of academia, as both of her parents worked at the University of Nigeria in Nsukka: her mother was the head of admissions, while her father was a professor of statistics. This is reflected in her work, as a significant proportion of Half of a Yellow Sun is set in the university. Furthermore, during the early years of her childhood she lived in a house that had previously been the residence of Chinua Achebe (1930-2013), who is generally considered the most influential Nigerian writer of the modern era – an incredible coincidence which seems to foreshadow her own literary career.

Adichie moved to the United States for university, and initially studied communications and political science at Drexel University in Philadelphia and Eastern Connecticut State University, before completing a Master’s degree in creative writing at John Hopkins University in Baltimore in 2003. That year, she also published her debut novel Purple Hibiscus, a coming-of-age story which centres on