Half of a Yellow Sun

What Half of a Yellow Sun is about

In 1960s Nigeria, a thirteen-year-old village boy named Ugwu goes to work in the house of Odenigbo, a mathematics professor at the university in Nsukka. The professor's home is a lively gathering place where thinkers argue about what the country should become now that colonial rule has ended. Into that circle comes Olanna, who gives up a comfortable life in Lagos to live with the man she loves. Her twin sister Kainene runs the family business and shares her life with an English writer named Richard.

Adichie tells the story in four sections that move back and forth between the early and late decade, so the reader sees both the hopeful beginning and what follows. Tension between Hausa and Igbo people turns violent, the southeast breaks away to form Biafra, and these households are pushed from their homes into hunger and fear. The book follows the war through the ordinary people living inside it, and it will suit readers who want history told through love, loyalty and family.

Questions about Half of a Yellow Sun

When was Half of a Yellow Sun published?

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was first published in 2006.

Was Half of a Yellow Sun one of the best books of 2006?

Half of a Yellow Sun is #3 on BookWard's Best Books of 2006, out of 46 2006 books that cleared our data bar. 609 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (35 ratings); 40 are reading it right now.

Why is Half of a Yellow Sun on the Best Books of 2006 list?

609 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.3 out of 5 (35 ratings); 40 are reading it right now.

More of the best books of 2006

• The Sea of Monsters Rick Riordan, #1
• The Book Thief Markus Zusak, #2
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas John Boyne, #4
• The Secret Rhonda Byrne, #5
• Mindset Carol S. Dweck, #6
• New Moon Stephenie Meyer, #7

See the full Best Books of 2006, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.