Half a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Review by Uli Vuma

To sum this up in a quote..."If we don't end war, war will end us."-H. G. Wells

And that is all there is to it. This book is about a war between people, between nations, between living in silence and loving in silence. It centers around 3 main characters, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene and there struggles during and after the Biafran War. We journey into the book and its setting with Ugwu, a man servant. His inquiring mind and general need to impress his Master, Odenigbo, is heart rending. It just roots the seed of sadness within you and you constantly wonder how he is doing when another character is in play. To please Odenigbo is Ugwu's one and only desire and sometimes Odenigbo is ignorant of this because of his fixation with his new girlfriend, Olanna. Their love is the rebellious kind. This is because her family, excluding her sister, are whole heartily against her relationship with the Professor. They fancy her with a chief, one that can give them high rank and riches beyond their dreams. Olanna is opposed to this, and she explains what she goes through throughout the book.

Kainene, who I believe doesn't sit right in the story line, is the comic relief. She is free spirited and is currently dating a white man. But nobody notices because they are all occupied with Olanna, her bigger and much beloved sister. She puts on a shield, one that hides her anger and sadness that her sister is afforded all the attention. This is probably why she started dating Richard, for the attention. But nothing is said in the book to this effect. For now she is roughing it out behind the scenes and waiting for her time of attention. And it comes.....

Fast forward 4 years and the arrival of babies, I won't say who's, and the abounding dangers of Biafra, has caused some of the characters to escape to a place called Nsukku. They land up impoverished and lodging with some refugees. They eventually run out of food and Kainene, wanting to be the hero, desperate for the love and attention she needed, decided to go look for food. But then she goes missing...

Books like these have to be digested slowly. They are quite intense, long running and enervate. But well worth finishing. This book reveals how harsh war is on the people that live in it. The emotions are out in the open, especially with characters like Ugwu and Kainene. Towards the climax, it can get really suspenseful, giving it a thriller-like feel. Chimamanda's writhing is amazing. How she managed to display those feelings in 540 pages escapes me. She writes as if she was there and that reels you in. This book is emotionally charging and if it wasn't for the lack of moisture in my tear ducts, I probably would've cried.

8 out of 10.