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4.33 AVERAGE
4.33 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Complicated
dark
informative
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, War
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death
dark
emotional
medium-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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-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:
No
4.3
Summarizing thoughts
This was a bold book. It was raw, straightforward, and fast. For someone who was unfamiliar with the Nigerian Civil War, I found it to be brutally informative. I didn't love the characters, but I absolutely loved the story, and though this is fiction, it read like something painfully true. I would highly recommend this.
What I liked
1. The plot is absolutely wild. This makes sense, given it's a wartime novel, but wow. There were so many twists and turns. I knew most of them wouldn't be good (for the characters), but I had to keep reading anyway.
2. This is an emotional book. CNA spares her characters no pain, and her storytelling style is so compelling that even if you can't empathize with the characters and even if you don't really like them, you can sympathize. I wasn't expecting so much romance (like, telenovela-worthy drama), but damn if she didn't do it well.
3. Her characters were... characters! They were sharp, thoughtful, flawed, and every other kind of memorable personalities. CNA constantly placed unique characters in even more unique (and often very dire) situations. I never once found myself bored with them. Annoyed? Disgusted? Angry? Amused by? Moved by? All yes. But never once Bored.
What I didn't like
1. Parts of the book felt rushed, not fully formed, flushed out, or said in totality. I understand that CNA covered a decade over the course of the book, but in her eagerness to include so many events, some of them seemed 'squeezed in' without a just development. This is just a minor thing though.
2. I didn't like the characters. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much, despite mostly disliking or feeling 'meh' about the main characters. I applaud CNA showing that protagonist or not, people are flawed, and yet her protagonist had some pretty unsavory qualities about them.
(Ugwu's constant fantasizing about breasts and butts and then ultimately raping a girl, Odenigbo's love affair with alcohol and more than one time infidelity, Richard's terrible awkwardness of simply *being* in the story; honestly, what value did he give the story? What did Richard *do?* Lol he didn't even finish his book, because he finally agrees with a man who tells him that it's not his place to write about the Igbo people. Given that he was the only white, British main character in this book, I thought he'd have more significance. I suppose he was just a foil character.)
3. I'll preface this by saying this is more a shortcoming of mine as a reader: I knew absolutely nothing about the Biafran War before reading. I also do not know the Igbo language. I do get the sense that CNA assumed the reader would know a little more than I did and that there were some nuances that I probably didn't get as a result of that. I did spend some time googling information about the Nigerian Civil War, which helped me with understanding and appreciating the context of this book.
Summarizing thoughts
This was a bold book. It was raw, straightforward, and fast. For someone who was unfamiliar with the Nigerian Civil War, I found it to be brutally informative. I didn't love the characters, but I absolutely loved the story, and though this is fiction, it read like something painfully true. I would highly recommend this.
What I liked
1. The plot is absolutely wild. This makes sense, given it's a wartime novel, but wow. There were so many twists and turns. I knew most of them wouldn't be good (for the characters), but I had to keep reading anyway.
2. This is an emotional book. CNA spares her characters no pain, and her storytelling style is so compelling that even if you can't empathize with the characters and even if you don't really like them, you can sympathize. I wasn't expecting so much romance (like, telenovela-worthy drama), but damn if she didn't do it well.
3. Her characters were... characters! They were sharp, thoughtful, flawed, and every other kind of memorable personalities. CNA constantly placed unique characters in even more unique (and often very dire) situations. I never once found myself bored with them. Annoyed? Disgusted? Angry? Amused by? Moved by? All yes. But never once Bored.
What I didn't like
1. Parts of the book felt rushed, not fully formed, flushed out, or said in totality. I understand that CNA covered a decade over the course of the book, but in her eagerness to include so many events, some of them seemed 'squeezed in' without a just development. This is just a minor thing though.
2. I didn't like the characters. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a book so much, despite mostly disliking or feeling 'meh' about the main characters. I applaud CNA showing that protagonist or not, people are flawed, and yet her protagonist had some pretty unsavory qualities about them.
(Ugwu's constant fantasizing about breasts and butts and then ultimately raping a girl, Odenigbo's love affair with alcohol and more than one time infidelity, Richard's terrible awkwardness of simply *being* in the story; honestly, what value did he give the story? What did Richard *do?* Lol he didn't even finish his book, because he finally agrees with a man who tells him that it's not his place to write about the Igbo people. Given that he was the only white, British main character in this book, I thought he'd have more significance. I suppose he was just a foil character.)
3. I'll preface this by saying this is more a shortcoming of mine as a reader: I knew absolutely nothing about the Biafran War before reading. I also do not know the Igbo language. I do get the sense that CNA assumed the reader would know a little more than I did and that there were some nuances that I probably didn't get as a result of that. I did spend some time googling information about the Nigerian Civil War, which helped me with understanding and appreciating the context of this book.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s writing touched a nerve in me when I first read “Americanah” so many years ago. Her storytelling in that novel hit too close to home. A too bitter reminder of the realities I have known as a Nigerian-born Black American. I have consciously avoided her books until now; when the overwhelming oppressiveness of a clown administration reminded me I was “other.” Though “Half of a Yellow Sun” precedes “Americanah,” I only discovered it recently when I decided to dip back into Adichie’s catalog.
This book being called masterfully written is a clichéd understatement. The prose, complex flow, character development, shifting perspectives, and the weight of the circumstances coalesce into a deeply gripping account of the Nigerian Civil War period. This recounting places Adichie on the same footing as Achebe. They both are national treasures and the Homeric orators of Nigeria’s stilted and violent march towards some idea of a whole.
“Half of a Yellow Sun” is expansive in scope but tight in its execution. The tome never feels insurmountable, and by the end, you hate that it ends. Then again, you know that the story cannot end and that it is just one of many that could be told of that time. Adichie pulls you deeply into the plot along with the character intricacies and envelops you in the ties that connect them all. The novel is personally enthralling; as if I was walking in my parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps.
It is also deeply heartbreaking in as many ways. The bitter reminder is that war destroys our humanity and dismantles the rules upholding civilization. It reminds me of my own parents’ journeys to where they are and how their marriage, in a tribally divided Nigeria, is even more amazing. This connection is possible because of Adichie’s ability to lend a perfect level of detail to everything. The food, music, mood, temperature, scenery, smells, and the mixing of languages all come to vibrant life across the pages. Adichie perfectly captures the swirling mix of mysticism, hope, fear, tension, and joy that is Nigeria.
She also manages to underscore the lingering sabotage of colonialism. The concurrent suffering of Black people across the world. One people, separated by slavery, war, and strife. All looking for a nation free of colonial influence. The brokenness of the African Diaspora is perfectly captured in the line: “I want this war to end so he can come back. He has become somebody else.” A bitter reminder of how Africa and Africans have been changed over the centuries by forces not their own.
This book being called masterfully written is a clichéd understatement. The prose, complex flow, character development, shifting perspectives, and the weight of the circumstances coalesce into a deeply gripping account of the Nigerian Civil War period. This recounting places Adichie on the same footing as Achebe. They both are national treasures and the Homeric orators of Nigeria’s stilted and violent march towards some idea of a whole.
“Half of a Yellow Sun” is expansive in scope but tight in its execution. The tome never feels insurmountable, and by the end, you hate that it ends. Then again, you know that the story cannot end and that it is just one of many that could be told of that time. Adichie pulls you deeply into the plot along with the character intricacies and envelops you in the ties that connect them all. The novel is personally enthralling; as if I was walking in my parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps.
It is also deeply heartbreaking in as many ways. The bitter reminder is that war destroys our humanity and dismantles the rules upholding civilization. It reminds me of my own parents’ journeys to where they are and how their marriage, in a tribally divided Nigeria, is even more amazing. This connection is possible because of Adichie’s ability to lend a perfect level of detail to everything. The food, music, mood, temperature, scenery, smells, and the mixing of languages all come to vibrant life across the pages. Adichie perfectly captures the swirling mix of mysticism, hope, fear, tension, and joy that is Nigeria.
She also manages to underscore the lingering sabotage of colonialism. The concurrent suffering of Black people across the world. One people, separated by slavery, war, and strife. All looking for a nation free of colonial influence. The brokenness of the African Diaspora is perfectly captured in the line: “I want this war to end so he can come back. He has become somebody else.” A bitter reminder of how Africa and Africans have been changed over the centuries by forces not their own.
Ontzettend indrukwekkend boek. Prachtig, weergaloos nog een paar superlatieven. Krachtige portretten van mensen van wie de levens radicaal om wordt gegooid door de strijd om een onafhankelijk Biafraland. Wat ik zo goed vind aan Adichie is dat ze temidden van die hele grote ellende oog blijft houden voor de individuele verschillen en de klasseverschillen tussen mensen. De mooie Olanna uit een welvarend gezin met een vader met machtige vrienden heeft het heel zwaar, maar dankzij haar positie kan ze wel onderhands melkpoeder krijgen. Adichi laat het snel opspelende snobisme zien bij mensen met wie het net iets beter gaat dan anderen, het constante vergelijken van posities en het pragmatisme, de waarde van fijne huidolie in tijden van schaarste en alle mooie en slechte dingen die bij mensen komen bovendrijven als het erop aankomt. Het verhaal wordt vanuit verschillende perspectieven beschreven. Ugwu is de slimme, onmisbare huisbediende die de Meester (universiteitsprofessor Odenigbo) en zijn vrouw bij elkaar wil houden. Hij beschrijft de hoogopgeleide vriendenkring van Odenigbo aan de hand van de drankjes die ze drinken. De mooie Olanna moet zien te leven met een man die door de oorlog een ander mens wordt. De Engelse Richard gaat helemaal op in de Igbocultuur en wil er zelf graag deel van uit maken, maar wordt er voortdurend aan herinnerd dat hij niet één van hen is, hoe goed hij ook Igbo spreekt.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
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:
Complicated