KnitAFett reviewed Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Hard-hitting, but well written.
4 stars
I admittedly did not know anything about the Nigerian Civil War before reading this book. Tackle on the fact that I try not to read blurbs or anything about the books before starting them, this one took me entirely by surprise.
The first portion of the book reads more like a historical drama. There's family disputes, betrayals, affairs, all that soap opera goodness. Then the war breaks out and you see how much it messes everything up and how it changes the characters of the book as they try to navigate and survive the attacks.
Adichie pulls no punches when it comes to any portion of this book, especially the war portions. The descriptions of attacked areas can be quite gorey, so just be prepared for that. I feel like this is an important read and I'm definitely glad that I read it.
I will say that …
I admittedly did not know anything about the Nigerian Civil War before reading this book. Tackle on the fact that I try not to read blurbs or anything about the books before starting them, this one took me entirely by surprise.
The first portion of the book reads more like a historical drama. There's family disputes, betrayals, affairs, all that soap opera goodness. Then the war breaks out and you see how much it messes everything up and how it changes the characters of the book as they try to navigate and survive the attacks.
Adichie pulls no punches when it comes to any portion of this book, especially the war portions. The descriptions of attacked areas can be quite gorey, so just be prepared for that. I feel like this is an important read and I'm definitely glad that I read it.
I will say that while I felt warmed towards some of the characters in this book in the beginning, Adichie quickly pulls out their flaws and smacks you in the face with their realities. Every character is flawed, and every character does some really dumb crap that you want to smack them for, if you don't wind up despising them. War changes everything, rarely for the better, and that message is clearly sent through this book.
It did take me a while to get through because of how heavy it was, but I recommend it, especially if you're like me and have not read anything about the Nigerian Civil War yet.
