“Half of a Yellow Sun” is not an easy book.
It captures your attention and doesn’t let go; so maybe not the kind of book to quickly read before bedtime.
However, Adichie is a very talented storyteller, so don’t be deterred by the prospect of a complex story.
Her writing is clear and full of dialogue, which expresses more clearly the fact that much of human behaviour and feelings are universal.
Adichie masters the art of bringing to life not only specific people or characters, but an entire nation.
Most of us will not have a clear image of what Nigeria is really like, but after “Half of a Yellow Sun” it does feel a bit like you’ve been there.
In 1996 Chimamanda goes to study in the USA where she discovers that much of the world outside Africa has a very limited knowledge about this continent: war and poverty we all know, but Africa cannot be limited to such notions.
Her own biography is the background which allows her to make it clear to the reader that there also exists a middle class, that people study at universities, and cities have their museums, writers and scientists.
She writes about the Nigeria/Biafra civil war for her ancestors. It is about her family and about what they went through. Both her grandfathers and an uncle died in detention camps. Most of what she knows about the period 1967 to 1970, she learned from her father’s stories, all of which went into the book.
The parts printed in italic is the book written by Ugwu. Only at the end you realise the book is dedicated to his “master”.
There is no real end to the book:
what happened to Kainene?
what becomes of Ugwu?
how do they organise their lives after the war?
what happened to Biafra after te war?
I think this is because there is still no end to their sufferings, they cannot yet forget what happened to them.
The Biafra conflict remains a problem in Nigeria.
!!History has recently been removed from the secondary school curriculum!!
Interesting sentences
- p.62: Discussion about the world’s philosophers’ thoughts on Africa:
Hegel: Africa is a land of childhood!
Hume and Voltaire and Locke all felt the same about Africa (says Odenigbo)If Europe had cared about Africa, the Jewish holocaust would not have happened. The world War would not have happened.
They started with the Herera (Namibia) and concluded with the Jews (says Odenigbo).
- p.129: The real tragedy of our postcolonial world is not that the majority of people had no say in whether or not they wanted this new world; rather that the majority have not been given the tools to negotiate this new world!!
- p148 Nigeria’s position is a delicate one. With the Huasa-Fulani in the pleasantly dry heat in the North, mostly muslims, and the Yoruba and Igbo’s in the humid South, mostly Christians, and the numerous other tribes, the basis for unity does not exist (p198)
- p209 The hatred between the North & the South has been caused simply by the informal divide-and-rule policies. These policies manipulated the differences between the tribes and ensured that the unity would not exist, thereby making the easy governance of such a large country practicable.
- In 1914, the governor-general joined the North and the South, and his wife picked a name. Nigeria was born!!
- Besides, the discovery of oil makes Nigeria dependent on foreign interest.
- p322 Molière: “Unbroken happiness is not a bore; it should have ups and downs”
- p538 “Grief was the celebration of love, those who could feel real grief were so lucky to have loved!!
Adichie gives a lot of facts on politics, colonisation and decolonisation, but never gives any judgement.
There is much more about the book, but then we have to tackle politics, colonisation and decolonisation issues we decided not to discuss.
“Half of a Yellow Sun opens a window upon a torn African nation, left aside by the rest of the world.
The Biafra/Nigeria war went on simultaneously with the Vietnam war. Hence little attention from the world!!
A book that will benefit everyone who is concerned with Africa.
Loeky
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