Half of a Yellow Sun | 
| Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $14.95
Buy New: $8.44
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Avg. Customer Rating:  63 reviews
Sales Rank: 6069
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 560
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 1400095204
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.92
EAN: 9781400095209
ASIN: 1400095204
Publication Date: September 4, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080820212438T
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Product Description
With effortless grace, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a thirteen-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene. Half of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the Biafran war.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 58 more reviews...
 Ambitious novel, lacks focus August 9, 2008
I agree with Music Mom. It really drags - so much so, that I didn't notice the time switches as I plodded through it - and became utterly confused about the course of events. The time switches emphasise that the three "main" characters hardly change throughout the decade. Their circumstances alter but nothing really changes them psychologically. The time switches also emphasise that the novel really doesn't move forward at all. "Sweeping", "all encompassing", "ambitious" are adjectives I see employed to discuss the book. I agree, but add that it lacks a focus and a narrative thread to keep this reader interested. An interesting and worthy topic, but a novel in need of a good editor.
 Page after page, simply wonderful July 30, 2008
In Nigeria, devastated by civil war in the 1960s, we see the birth of the state of Biafra and relearn quite a bit of history. It is through the eyes of three different characters, whose personal tales intertwine, that history blends with their difficult paths:
Ugwu, a houseboy for eccentric university lecturer Odenigbo. Olanna, whose parents raise her and twin sister Kainene in the most privileged of backgrounds in Lagos; she leaves everything behind to follow Odenigbo as they are very much in love. Richard, a timid British national charmed by the Igbo culture and enthralled by Kainene, whose personality is an enigma for everyone. Obviously many other characters rotate all around and as we become acquainted with each of them, their presence is always pertinent and complementary to the main story.
I would not add anything else as the tale would be spoiled but I cannot refrain from strongly recommending this book as it is informative in many ways, its narrative flows beautifully, heartbreakingly, even comically at times and your heart is captured within the lines. It does not dwell on the violence of war even though it (the violence) is perceived in subtle but incredibly effective ways.
Read this book, you will not regret it. Quoting from my review title, simply wonderful, indeed.
BEAUTIFULLY RENDERED NOVEL July 9, 2008
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This beautifully rendered novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie describes to us in breathtaking details the polarizing 1960s of Nigeria. As with Purple Hibiscus Purple Hibiscus: A Novel Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie proves yet again that her voice is not one that is easily silenced. The centers around twin sisters, Olanna and Kainene, who, along with their family, get encompassed by civil war. All I really need to say is I couldn't put this book down! From the first sentence to long after I completed it, this book stayed with me. Some call this book a love story, others it's a fictional tale based on non-fictional events, but it really is about people enduring through some of the hardest times imagined. The honesty in the language, the way Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie created the dialog, all culminate to create this haunting tale. A+
An amazing book! June 30, 2008
This book pulls you into the lives of the characters immediately and you never fall away. The writing is gorgeous and tragic, poetic, as the author follows in the footsteps of beautiful, incredible African writers, yet she takes this tragic civil war and makes the story her own. I could not put the book down. After you read this, try 'A Grain of Wheat' by James Ngugi.
Adichie makes one feel you are were in war....great story June 13, 2008
My book group only reads award winning books, I select them all except one each year, this is a little a scary because I want the group to always love the time they spend reading. Well this book will be one of those books, their are very developed characters,good history lessons, lovely descriptions of the flowers and trees and then as the war starts engulfing them...the starkness of what is left in their towns is painful. It is not a light book, but a book that you will not want to put down and will not want it to end. You will feel Love of family, Love of county and a vivid descriptions of Love and Hate of mankind.
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