While Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a renowned, award-winning author, it was not through her books that I first got to know of her. Public speaking was something I always did for fun and my mother thought I could learn a thing or two about addressing a crowd from Adichie’s “We should all be feminists”. She was one of the first famous Africans I saw (apart from politicians) who spoke in an accent that did not sound like a try-hard imitation of any particular ‘white’ accent. I found her bold, sensible and elegant, and being a bookworm, you can imagine how stoked I was when I discovered that this well-spoken, African feminist woman was an author. I just had to get my hands on her books, and soon enough, I did.
I hated ‘Half of a Yellow Sun when I first read it. To be fair, I was only fourteen years old and I had just gotten off the Enid Blyton express. To put it simply, my mind was not yet accustomed to mature themes and I could not get around Ugwu’s gauche yet charming interest in Nnesinachi and Eberechi. It was not until earlier this year that I finally realised that I had been sleeping on a gem the entire time.
The novel captures the lives of ordinary civilians in the midst of the chaos that came with the dream of Biafra, one which would always remain a dream. Disillusionment is thus, everpresent in the novel and it pops up in other instances as well; Olanna’s inability to conceive, Richard’s infidelity, Ugwu’s failure to properly love Nnesinachi and Eberechi, alongside Olanna and Odenigbo’s ruined wedding. It can be pointed out that one thing that never appears to die in the novel is hope, as illustrated by the fact that love continued to exist in the middle of chaos, such that Odenigbo and Olanna even had a wedding at war in the first place.
My favourite element of the book was the characterisation. Each character was unique and well-rounded, such that I still think about minor ones, like Mrs Muokelu and Alice. Kainene was, by far, my favourite character in the book and her bold, outspokenness is one that I admire deeply. It is still a major peeve that we never get to know what happens to her. She appears to be the female version of the father who left home to get milk and never returned.
The relationships that exist between the characters are also worth noting, particularly the one between Olanna and Odenigbo’s mother. It follows the ‘good natured young woman who is despised by mother-in-law troupe’ and their relationship can be summed up by their first interaction, in which Odenigbo’s mother says, “They say you did not suck your mother’s breasts. Please go back and tell those who sent you that you did not find my son. Tell your fellow witches that you did not see him.”
Her hate for Olanna culminates in her arranging for Odenigbo to hook up with a girl she had brought from the village, Amala, one whom she perceived as being ‘normal’ and ‘worthy’ of her son. While it can be said that Amala may have wholeheartedly been in on the ordeal, her refusal to even hold her baby with Odenigbo signals that she either regretted it, or wanted nothing to do with it in the first place and was simply her master’s pawn to spite Olanna.
Gender roles are epitomised by the treatment Ugwu gets from Odenigbo’s mother. She dismisses his willingness to help her in the kitchen, asserting that there is little Ugwu would know about cooking, as he is male. This reflects the popular state of gender relations in Africa, as women are the designated cooks and cleaners in many households, although a growing number of Africans hold a generally more progressive view, one which is not steeped in a false idea of culture and tradition. Find my thoughts on African culture, marriage and gender roles here:
“Half of a Yellow Sun” is a beautiful read and it is clear to me why it is Adichie’s most popular novel to date. It is certainly a book that I will revisit soon and I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did(if you haven’t already).
By Augustine 
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