Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Half of a Yellow Sun - Wendy's Review

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Half Of A Yellow Sun is a wrenching novel about love, disappointment, forgiveness and the unbearable emptiness of loss. Set during the 1960's, the story details Biafra's struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria. The novel gives the reader a glimpse into the politics which created Nigeria's civil war. Adichie's simple and eloquent language reveals the vivid, stark images of Nigeria's cities, people and bush villages. Ugwu, Olanna, Odenigbo, Richard and Kainene are just some of the characters who people this novel - complex, rich and unforgettable they show us what it is like to be vulnerable and human during a time of uncertainty.

This is not a 'feel good' novel - instead it stuns the reader with the horrifying images of a brutal war and reminds us that in the end, despite cultural and religious and race differences, we are all just people struggling to anchor our lives with others.

Half Of A Yellow Sun is a literary masterpiece that has earned its place as winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2007 and as a New York Times Most Notable Fiction book of 2007.

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