Half Of A Yellow Sun

Abstract

Half of a Yellow Sun, set in 1960s Nigeria, explores the lives of three very different characters – Ugwu, a poor young boy who becomes the houseboy of university lecturer Odenigbo; Olanna, a beautiful and educated woman from a wealthy family, whose relationship with her twin sister Kainene, so different in many ways from her, moves between loving and strained; and Richard, an Englishman living, and researching art, in Nigeria. As the novel unfolds, their lives intersect and intertwine in various ways, and we see each of them evolving in very different ways. Familial and romantic relationships are tested, as are loyalties; desire burns; facades crumble; and the striving for survival is explored in all its many guises.