105 pages 3 hours read

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Half of a Yellow Sun

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2006

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Introduction

Half of a Yellow Sun

  • Genre: Fiction; historical
  • Originally Published: 2006
  • Reading Level/Interest: Grades 9-12; college/adult
  • Structure/Length: 37 chapters; approx. 543 pages; approx. 18 hours on audio
  • Protagonist and Central Conflict: Multiple viewpoints from five main characters reveal each one’s connection to the Biafran rebels during the 1960s Nigerian Civil War and resulting conflicts and consequences.
  • Potential Sensitivity Issues: Wartime violence and death, including that of civilians by massacre and starvation; rape; adultery; forced military service

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Author

  • Bio: Born in 1977 in Enugu, Nigeria; lost family members and possessions during the Nigerian Civil War; attended the University of Nigeria before arriving in the US to study at Drexel University in Philadelphia and the Eastern Connecticut State University; later attended Johns Hopkins University for creative writing; awarded 16 honorary degrees from prestigious colleges and universities and earned the Macarthur Fellowship “Genius grant” honor (2008); inspired and influenced by Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe; has given several TEDx talks on cultural understating, feminism, and the influence of background and history on individuals
  • Other Works: Purple Hibiscus (2003); Americanah (2013); We Should All Be Feminists (2014)
  • Awards: O. Henry Prize (2003); Hurston/Wright Legacy Award (2004); Commonwealth Writer’s Prize (2005); Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction (2007); Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007); “Best of the Best” Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction (2015)

Related Titles

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Apollo

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Apollo

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

A Private Experience

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A Private Experience

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Birdsong

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Birdsong

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Cell One

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Cell One

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Checking Out

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Checking Out

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

The Headstrong Historian

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Headstrong Historian

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Study Guide

logo

The Thing Around Your Neck

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Thing Around Your Neck

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

STUDY + TEACHING GUIDE

logo

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie