Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Excellent writing, pacing and story. However, too much sex and sexual assault for my personal preference.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I read this mainly because I wanted to know more about the Nigerian-Biafra war. Something I didn't even know had happened until a Nigerian coworker brought it up. It is an extremely sad and difficult read but wonderfully written and so helpful in understanding the conflict. I'd definitely recommend reading it if you can.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I did not know much about Nigerian history before I read this book. I knew vaguely that there had been some conflicts but that was about it. I never looked for details on all that. This book provides a fascinating first glimpse into Nigeria's rich history and also helpfully points to other books about the same conflict (perhaps only in this edition that I read!).
Chimmanda Adichie manages to humanize the war as much as possible. We have a core cast of characters that we are introduced to and allowed to live with for a while before the strife starts. This helps us connect with the people at a personal level. She also continues to take the plot forward not just through the major happenings of this time, but also through the little events that change individual life. So even as a major war is happening and one of the characters has to adjust to that, he also has to deal with feelings of attraction to a neighbour. It is this interplay of large monumental history and the minutiae of an individual life, that grounds us and makes us completely empathize.
There are some character inconsistencies - the constant one about Ugwu's misogyny always stood out to me. I didn't understand how even as he grew more mature, he never saw what was wrong with this. There was no exploration about any kind of conflict he felt about this. Contrast this with Richard's arc -how much can you belong to another nation when you come to it as part of a "conqueror" race? This was intimately explored and we could see the growth that occurred. Olanna and Kainene's relationship also had a similarly detailed evolution. This detail was missing in few of the other arcs and this was a deterrent to the book.
However, there is this overriding sense of the pain and suffering that war brings and this is at the top of everything else. All the other arcs are part of this major theme and this works very well in making us think about the multitudinous ways in which war affects life. This I think is what Chimamanda set out to achieve and she does this exceedingly well. I already have a huge respect for the Nigerians who lived out this war and are still living out the consequences of this event and I do want to read more about this. So without a doubt, this is a job well done and a book worth reading.
Chimmanda Adichie manages to humanize the war as much as possible. We have a core cast of characters that we are introduced to and allowed to live with for a while before the strife starts. This helps us connect with the people at a personal level. She also continues to take the plot forward not just through the major happenings of this time, but also through the little events that change individual life. So even as a major war is happening and one of the characters has to adjust to that, he also has to deal with feelings of attraction to a neighbour. It is this interplay of large monumental history and the minutiae of an individual life, that grounds us and makes us completely empathize.
There are some character inconsistencies - the constant one about Ugwu's misogyny always stood out to me. I didn't understand how even as he grew more mature, he never saw what was wrong with this. There was no exploration about any kind of conflict he felt about this. Contrast this with Richard's arc -how much can you belong to another nation when you come to it as part of a "conqueror" race? This was intimately explored and we could see the growth that occurred. Olanna and Kainene's relationship also had a similarly detailed evolution. This detail was missing in few of the other arcs and this was a deterrent to the book.
However, there is this overriding sense of the pain and suffering that war brings and this is at the top of everything else. All the other arcs are part of this major theme and this works very well in making us think about the multitudinous ways in which war affects life. This I think is what Chimamanda set out to achieve and she does this exceedingly well. I already have a huge respect for the Nigerians who lived out this war and are still living out the consequences of this event and I do want to read more about this. So without a doubt, this is a job well done and a book worth reading.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this took me FOREVER
literally think i read it for half a year (okay maybe it was three months) but still that’s a long time
very historical but like fiction tied too it so pretty interesting, follows a couple different story lines (all are intertwined) which if you’re not reading it often can get hard to get back into bc it doesn’t have a specific pattern - it’s really considered a classic and while it’s written well it was just SO dense
literally think i read it for half a year (okay maybe it was three months) but still that’s a long time
very historical but like fiction tied too it so pretty interesting, follows a couple different story lines (all are intertwined) which if you’re not reading it often can get hard to get back into bc it doesn’t have a specific pattern - it’s really considered a classic and while it’s written well it was just SO dense
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes