I have such a crush on this book. Normally I hate it when people talk about a book's ability to grab them from the first sentence/paragraph/page/chapter, because it is so cliche and seems to miss the point of a truly excellent novel, which is the entire journey through the narrative. That said, Half of a Yellow Sun really did charm me from the very beginning through very deliberate and masterful character development. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the type of author who makes writing seem so effortless, and a reader has to take constant pauses to marvel at her prose. And I feel I can wax poetic about Half of a Yellow Sun and it's ability to hook a reader early because I can already sense the very deliberate and effective pacing that progresses the rest of the story.

The novel is about two Nigerian sisters, educated in England, experiencing their young adulthoods in the midst of the Biafran War. It has a bit of that Poisonwood Bible- post-colonial Africa in the 1960s vibe, but is so much more urban-centric. I couldn't help but imagine every scene in the novel as a Malik Sidibe photograph or a still from Mad Men, and that mid-century aesthetic context is so deeply saturated throughout.

A film version has been made but is languishing in a Nigerian censorship dispute because of the perceived politicized nature of the film. In the meantime you can enjoy the novel, which I think makes for a deeply pleasurable summer/beach read, and watch the movie trailer over and over like I have. Trailers are always better than the movies they're cut from anyway. (I don't know if I should bother adding a SPOILER ALERT-- the trailer does show some key events and dramatic climaxes from the novel, but on the other hand, it's a story about the Biafran War, so you already know generally what happens.)