Page 5 - BPW BERKELEY BULLETIN - Edition 22 - February 2024 - with attachments
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What to Read by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
Told from three perspectives, Half of a Yellow Sun is about the human impacts of the Biafran
War (also known as the Nigerian Civil War). First is Ugwu, a 13-year-old boy who works as a
houseboy for a professor of mathematics, Odenigbo. Second is Olanna, who is married to
Odenigbo and estranged from her parents after they try to offer her as a bribe to advance their
business interests. As war breaks out, Olanna and Odenigbo are forced to flee from their homes
because they’re seen as socialists. Lastly is Olanna’s sister Kainene, who starts the novel
involved in her parents’ business and even profits off of the war, but later becomes disillusioned
by the violence and chooses to run a refugee camp in order to help others.
Like other novels mentioned here, much of the struggle in this book comes from the impossible
position African countries were put in during the 20th century. Adichie was raised during the
aftermath of the Biafran War, and said she felt the need to address the specter of historical
violence in her writing.
