It’s not easy to listen to a story whose ending you already know. But I’d like to believe that the process of rereading books is so much more than a repeat. It’s more enjoyable than the repetitive things we do. I found myself channeling a host of emotions and bursts of inspiration while rereading this particular book. Half Of A Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi is a fabulous tale that buoys you.There is the defiant nationalism of a people fighting for recognition and safety. The cast is a mixture of the eclectic, the illiterate, the superstitious, the belligerent and the downright comical. At the start, when major characters are introduced to the reader we have such colourful conversations and surprising contrasts to the point of intrigue and infatuation. Odenigbo is a powerhouse, a revolutionary, this illuminating light that people rally behind. Before the war breaks out life is regular and even.
As the story progresses, the characters gain flesh and become persons you can recognise, even envision because they are detailed. We have Odenigbo and his undeniably beautiful wife Olanna, Ugwu their houseboy, Kainene the openly rebellious daughter of Ozobia and the foreigner Richard who is in the country to explore Igbo-Ukwu art looms large in the story. Speaking of Richard I can’t help but feel a little sad for him because he happened to be in the country when tension wrecked the national spirit that was emerging. However, I am angry at what Richard represents; an empire whose exploitative rush to accumulate, plunder and conquer. In my books Richard is however redeemed by his decision to tell the native tell the story. Ugwu and the refrain; the world was silent when we died is both chilling and prophetic. The Igbo were profiled, hounded out of their homes and forced to fight against a formidable army that had the ammunition to annihilate and the persistent focus of a jaguar on the hunt.
The line between a brief, enticing summary of a book and a lengthy ramble filled with spoilers is quite blurrry for me.
But the wonderful people who write blurbs have mastered the art of making us judge books by their covers. Please read the
blurb. I am here to talk about the beauty of hope that lofty ideas represent and the courage to fight for the actualisation of that idea.
This is about what the story felt like, a conversation and a challenge. The verbal sparring between Odenigbo and his peers made it possible for me to join in without any obligation to chip in. Maybe this review is my contribution to the conversation.
We can talk more about the story if;
a) you don’t mind spoilers
b) when you do read the book.
Several passages stood out with such profound wisdom i had to leave a sticky note on that page because highlighting books
feels intrusive. On my instagram post there’s a list of 10 passages that stood out for me. What are yours?
And there goes another not so subtle prod for you to read the book. I went back tothis book to relive the experiences and
to solidify my thoughts around it. The story is phenomenal and heartbreaking and brilliantly acccomplished.
As a lover of history and origins it spoke to me about the power ofl erasure and the importance of telling our own stories.
Nzioka Mutua 