53. Half of a Yellow Sun

Half of a Yellow Sun: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Books

A stunning, difficult and important novel. It's large and heavy, and took me several days to read it, but it's definitely one of the most memorable books I've read in quite some time. I knew almost nothing about the war in Nigeria/Biafra in the 60's- I was a little girl then of course but I do remember seeing pictures on the news of the starving children dying in Biafra. I had no idea why it was happening until reading this account of the lives of a large extended 'family'. "War is very ugly" is repeated frequently through the story and it is- horrifyingly ugly.

A powerful quote from the middle of the book:

"Olanna... sat thinking about how a single act could reverberate over time and space and leave stains that could never be washed off. She thought about how ephemeral life was, about not choosing misery."

This book has received a lot of well-deserved attention, Winning the Orange Broadband Prize, being a finalist in the NBCC Awards, a New York Times Notable Book, a People and Black Issues Book review Best book of the Year.

She has a powerful voice, full of compassion and deep insight. I'm incredibly impressed with Adichie's writing and will definitely look for Purple Hibiscus, her first novel.