Half of a Yellow Sun

A book that looks at the struggles of the Biafran War in Nigeria and how it affected the lives of civilians on different sides of the class spectrum; I really loved how there were no limits to the author's description of events. From lavish parties enjoyed by aristocrats, to village celebrations; from romantic scenes to gruesome violence and sexual abuse, there were times when I thought the description was too much but it only made the story much better!

The Biafran War is a sensitive subject for many Africans, Nigerians especially. So for a book to touch this subject so openly was really audacious. The independence transition stage from the 1960s to 1990s was a really difficult stage for many African countries, and civil wars caused a lot of struggle for countries like Angola, Congo, Rwanda etc. This wonderful piece of writing opened up a field for writers and I'm very interested in seeing whether other authors have tried telling factual history through the art of fictional writing.

Chimamanda Adichie's writing was both very descriptive and fluid. The different character perspectives created a wonderful picture for the reader. Her approach was very brave but I commend her for it.

I'd definitely recommend it to other readers.