Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

My book of the month for February was one to write home about. Literally. I LOVED THIS BOOK. I must let it sink in before I begin to rank where it stands in my growing list of influential books read. This is the 1^st book I have ever read by the famous and prized author Chimamanda Adichie; it will not be my last. The book was lengthy, or maybe I am just a slow reader, but it kept me eager to flip through additional pages with each line read.

This book was borrowed from my big sister Jeanny. It amazes me to see how good of a woman she has become, fervent in her faith and unrelenting on her standards. I actually nabbed 2 books from her, this and The Alchemy which I will get into later. My attraction to this book hails from my never-ending quest to learn more about my Igbo culture and the synopsis gave me a promising hope that it will teach me Igbo history. What made me adore this book was the fact that I could kill 2 birds with 1 stone! I strengthened my Igbo and English vernacular. Some of my newly found words/phrases I can easily recite include:

Fastidious – Very attention detailed.

Ominous – To speak as if something bad is about to happen

Sonorous – Deep pitched voice

Ola – Gold

Naba na ndokwa – Go in peace

O gburo m ebgu, o mee ka m malu ihe – What doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger (not a literal translation)

There are more words and phrases I learned, but for the sake of brevity, I won’t list them all lol. This book gave me insight into my grandmother’s life as it traced back to the Biafra War. I can’t wait to ask her questions and try to connect the dots with some information I read. It has been a while since I last spoke to her, and we can hopefully bond over a quick history lesson. The next step is to watch the movie as many people mentioned is a must. The book had many facets: a love story, tragedy, war, family traditions, etc.

Overall, I’d say this book is a must if you are Igbo. It is also a good read for everyone else, but it really gives you nostalgia if you have been to Nigeria and can understand the small quips in Igbo throughout the book. Next book on the list: The Blood of Emmett Till.