Half of a Yellow Sun

Half of Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is one of those books that has been on many award/best of lists. I picked up this book as well as Digging to America by Anne Tyler after they were both on the Orange Prize Book Award. I did read Digging to America, and it’s not even worth posting on so we’ll just move on to this wonderful book which deserves any prize that it wins.

The book takes place during the Nigeria-Biafra war which took place from 1967 – 1970. It is told from the viewpoint of 2 sisters, Olanna and Kainene, and the 3 men in their life. Prior to reading this book, I knew nothing about Biafra and it probably would have been helpful to read the Wikipedia entry. The title of the book comes from the Biafran flag

As a brief summary, Nigeria is primarily made up of the Igbo (Christian) tribe and Hausa or Fulani Muslims. Most of the Igbo live in Eastern Nigeria and in 1967, an Igbo military commander, Colonel Ojukwu, seceded from Nigeria and declared Biafra an independent state. The war went on for three years with Nigeria blockading Biafra from receiving any supplies including those from the Red Cross. By the end of the war, more than a million people had died as a result of starvation and other war atrocities. By 1970, with no chance of survival and minimal world recognition, Biafra surrended and rejoined Nigeria.

As a brief summary, Nigeria is primarily made up of the Igbo (Christian) tribe and Hausa or Fulani Muslims. Most of the Igbo live in Eastern Nigeria and in 1967, an Igbo military commander, Colonel Ojukwu, seceded from Nigeria and declared Biafra an independent state. The war went on for three years with Nigeria blockading Biafra from receiving any supplies including those from the Red Cross. By the end of the war, more than a million people had died as a result of starvation and other war atrocities. By 1970, with no chance of survival and minimal world recognition, Biafra surrended and rejoined Nigeria. So now that you understand the backdrop of the novel, let’s get back to the characters. Olanna and Kainene are the twin daughters of wealthy Nigerians who have very different temperaments, hopes, desires and even looks. Olanna is the beautiful sister and Kainene is the homely one. Olanna lives with Odenigbo, who is known throughout the book as the Revolutionary Lover. He is a mathematics professor and surrounds himself with fellow intellectuals. They spend their evenings discussing politics, literature and the arts.

Odenigbo and Olanna are very involved in Biafran politics and are much in favor the secession. They have a houseboy, Ugwu, who is a poor village boy whose voice is heard throughout the novel. Ugwu, who I assume was representative of most of the Biafran population at that time, really had no understanding of the war. He just blindly followed his Master and believed that the Biafrans were “good” and the Nigerians “evil.”

Kainene is the more practical of the two sisters and is taking over the family manufacturing business. She lives with Richard, a white English man who desperately wants to be Biafran. When Biafra secedes, she views its effects from an economic standpoint and her discussions and relationships never center on the politics and morality of the war.

This is another story with a common theme of how upper-middle class families react during war-time. Similar to Suite Francaise, set during WWII, the main characters can not imagine how dire their circumstances can become. Their world, both economically and intellectually, shrinks little by little as the war progresses until by the end of the novel they are no different from the millions of other victims of the war who are starving and living in dire circumstances.

All of the characters are rich, multi-dimensional and their inter-locking relationships would have been enough material for a novel without the historical significance of the Nigerian civil war. That’s what makes this novel so wonderful – it is a story about relationships of all types – political, tribal, familial, romantic – and Adichie captures it all with beautiful prose and a gripping story. It was one of the books that I just couldn’t put down.

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  By DJ Cayenne, May 14, 2007 @ 10:11 am

  Half of a Yellow Sun is becoming like The Road for me. How many glowing reviews will I need to read before either book ends up, once and for all, in my to be read stack. I am going to go on record (for whatever that’s worth) and officially declare that I will read both books in 2007. You heard it here first.

  As a bonus, thanks to this review I am now aware of where Jello Biafra (lead singer of The Dead Kennedys) lifted his name. Thanks!

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  By Herman Glimscher, May 14, 2007 @ 10:27 am

  I remember the Biafran War from my childhood–mostly from pictures of small, malnourished children with bony shoulders and distended bellies.

  Also, on behalf of Anne tyler, let me say, “Youch!”

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