Winner of the 2007 Women's Prize

Half of a Yellow Sun

Name: Half of a Yellow Sun
ISBN: 0007506074

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Recorded edition: Fourth Estate · 2014 · ISBN 0007506074 · Edition source

Approximately 433 pages

Estimated reading time: 11–15 hours at 30–40 pages per hour; edition and reading pace affect this estimate.

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Book-club discussion

Suggested questions based on the book’s premise and form.

How do the characters’ different social positions shape their experiences?
What can historical fiction show about displacement that a chronological history might leave out?

What is this book about?

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie sets Half of a Yellow Sun in Nigeria during the 1960s, as the country moves towards civil war. Among its central figures are Ugwu, a teenage domestic worker; Odenigbo, the mathematics professor who employs him; and Olanna, whose wealthy family background differs from Ugwu’s. Their relationships are disrupted by the conflict of 1967–1970.

Published in 2006, the novel connects its characters’ private lives with displacement and questions of identity in a country shaped by colonial rule. The title belongs to a work of historical fiction, not a documentary history; its characters provide a way into the consequences of war for individuals and communities.