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Half of a Yellow Sun

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Half of a Yellow Sun

By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Narrated by: Zainab Jah
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About this listen

THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION ‘WINNER OF WINNERS’

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'

‘A literary masterpiece’ DAILY MAIL

‘An immense achievement’ OBSERVER

In 1960s Nigeria, three lives intersect. Ugwu works as a houseboy for a university professor. Olanna has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos to live with her charismatic lover, the lecturer. And Richard, a shy Englishman, is in thrall to Olanna’s enigmatic twin sister. Amongst the horror of Nigeria’s civil war, loyalties are tested as they are pulled apart and thrown together in ways none of them imagined.

Winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s masterpiece is a novel about race, class and the end of colonialism – and the ways in which love can complicate everything.

‘A gorgeous, pitiless account of love, violence and betrayal’ TIME

‘Vividly written, thrumming with life … a remarkable novel’ JOYCE CAROL OATES

‘Adichie entwines love and politics to a degree rarely achieved by novelists’ ELLE

©2016 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural War & Military Africa Tear-jerking War

Critic Reviews

"Vividly written, thrumming with life...a remarkable novel. In its compassionate intelligence as in its capacity for intimate portraiture, this novel is a worthy successor to such twentieth-century classics as Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and V. S. Naipaul's A Bend in the River." (Joyce Carol Oates)
"Here is a new writer endowed with the gift of ancient storytellers." (Chinua Achebe)
"[Deserves] a place alongside such works as Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy and Helen Dunmore's depiction of the Leningrad blockade, The Siege." ( The Guardian)
"Heartbreaking, funny, exquisitely written and, without doubt, a literary masterpiece and a classic." ( Daily Mail)
"Stunning. This novel is an immense achievement." ( The Observer)
All stars
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This is a beautifully written account of a turbulent time in Nigerian history and the impact on the lives of two sisters, their households and communities. It taught me much that I did not know. It is lengthy and often confronting, but it held me from the start. The narration was wonderful. It was a privilege to listen to this extraordinary work.

Deeply moving

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How difficult to hear of this war, Biafra, a country I only knew had existed because of its starved peoples, and their tragic images which reached the press of the time.
As always, a gripping work by Chimamanda. I only wish I had known this truth growing up. A very difficult and sad truth.

Raw pain

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Beautifully narrated.
An comprehensive and compelling story on the country of Biafra.
As a child growing up in Australia I remember my mother saying - eat your dinner think of all the starving children in Biafra.
I loved this book with the real life rich characters.

While the world watch us die

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This is an encredibly powerful book full of deeply appealing characters that provided great insights into the plight of minorities in Nigeria and the horror that was experienced by Biafrans. I thought it was beautifully narrated. I had trouble turning the book off, and I am sure it will remain with me long after the closing credits. Highly recommended.

The world was silent while we died.

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The narrator struggled with Igbo language. The world watched while Biafrans died and the killings are still going on.

Igbo language

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The story of the effects of the Biafran War on ordinary people. I found the account of how lives were turned upside down by unwise idealists very moving. The novel was brought to life by the really brilliant narration who I give 5 stars plus! she was absolutely brilliant.

Well worth reading and brilliantly narrated!

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The Biafra war happened when I was young. I had heard talks by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which I loved, so I looked for her books. The powerful characters from Ugwu, to Kainene became so real, I absolutely loved it. I have lived in Uganda for 18 years, so the deep cultural African dynamics resonated with me. Thank you for this rich experience.

Opened my Eyes to a Whole World

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This was a heartbreaking story of the Biafran war in Nigeria told through the eyes of twin sisters and the effects on them and their families and friends. It was well told, though graphic in places. Narration was good.

Heartbreaking Story

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very well narrated.

(had some technical issues playing the book and had to relaunch several times)

superb writing

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A very special and engrossing exploration of a time and place most of us know nothing about.

Simply written, but lacking no heart.

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