Half of a Yellow Sun follows the lives of three characters whose lives are connected. Ugwu is a thirteen year old boy who leaves his village to become a house-boy for a university professor. He realises his life is not like the life of other house-boys. They do not sleep in a spare room within the homes of their Masters, nor are they encouraged to read books the way that Ugwu is. Ugwu is eager to please and proves himself constantly to be a valuable asset to his Master's household.

Olanna is the professor's mistress. She and her twin sister have led priveleged lives in Lagos, due to their father's status. She gives up that life in order to live a more exciting life with her "revolutionary lover" as her sister often describes the professor.

Then there is Richard, Unlike the rest of the characters within the pages, Richard is a white man who is eager to make his life in Africa. He is obesessed with Olanna's twin sister, who is very different from Olanna, as she is a very strong, fearless, and independent woman.

Their lives change when war breaks out - the book re-creates the struggle of the 1960's between Nigeria and Biafra - and as igbo speaking people, they find themselves fighting for the right to live.

I don't know where to start with this book. I fell in love with it in a way that is rare for me. The characters are each filled with such energy and very distinctive, and I think what surprised me the most with the characters, is that even those who make a brief appearance were wonderfully defined. The detail of the war itself is phenomenal and often brutal. Chilling scenes are often described such as when Olanna is on a train on her way back home. Olanna is seated on the floor, urine spreading on the floor of the train and a lady asks her to come and take a look at something. Olanna looks into the bowl that the woman is holding and there is a little girl's head with ashy-gray skin, braided hair, rolled-back eyes and open mouth. That's an image that will stay with me for a long time.

Raw emotion leaps from the pages in this novel and I often found myself biting my lip as I worried about the characters. Thanks to the brilliant detail, each of them is so easy to feel attached to and I had to keep stopping myself from skipping ahead to reassure myself that they were all fine.

The glimpse of another culture was definitely what made this book something special for me though. I enjoyed learning about the foods, the language - there are words in igbo sprinkled throughout the pages -, the people, and the landscape. It was just an amazing novel. It says a lot that it's a little over 400 pages and I practically inhaled it in just over a day.

This one is a definite must read.

a compeling story!

I cannot agree more with the reviewers who found it difficult to put this book down. I just picked it up to browse(it was my mum's) and just had to read all of it!

This book tells the story of the struggles endured by the Igbo people in Nigeria in the late 1960`s, struggling to create the independent republic of Biafra in response to the unjust massacre of their tribe.

I don`t believe I have ever read a book where I felt EVERY character held great significance to the story.

I feel humbled by the tales of those who survived, honoured to share in their history and shamed by the silence of the world. "The World Was Silent When We Died"...

Adichie's latest novel is a gem, depicting the conflict within Nigeria during the secession, when the short-lived independent state of Biafra was created. Hundreds of thousands of people died during this time, from hunger, famine, and violence. "Half of a Yellow Sun" delves into the lives of one fictionary family in particular, and those people surrounding it. The characters vary greatly in how they react and live with the conflict, or choose not to, which digs deep into the human condition and human nature. The novel is multi-layered, offering the reader not only the main conflict and action of the war, but the ramifications on Nigerians' lives. The details and actions and reactions of the characters make them come alive- you want to meet them. This realistic story weaves together the violence of the time with the love and binding ties that can unite two people, a family, or an entire country. The spurts of humour display that the human propensity to hope is always evident amidst despair. An emotional read that forces readers to question their own strength and courage, and confront the violence going on in today's world in a new light.

This book had me hooked from the first page. I couldn't put it down. If you are looking for a great read, look no further!

Adichie is amazing, the character development in this novel is fabulous. After putting down the book, I find myself wondering, what would those characters would be doing now? This is a MUST read for this year!

This well-written novel explores one acclectic family's struggle to stay alive and together during the Biafran war. Inter-tribal conflict, colonialism, and the susceptability of the individual to both of these things are illuminated with jarring clarity. Adichie's character's are complicated and evolve rapidly. The specter of the political enmeshes the plight of the individual, rendering the novel both highly informative and accessible.

Exception writing, well worth reading