Book Review | Book Chatter

Note from Ti: I am going to try something new with this review. My reviews will have three parts now: the summary, something that I am calling “the short of it” and then a section for my thoughts.

The “short of it” will be a few sentences about the book. Basically these brief sentences will indicate whether or not I enjoyed the book. Some readers like to know up-front if a book is worth reading so there you go! Consider it a mini-review of sorts.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Publisher: Random House Inc
Pub. Date: September 2007
ISBN-13: 9781400095209
528pp

Here’s the blurb from Barnes and Noble:

“With astonishing empathy and the effortless grace of a natural storyteller, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie weaves together the lives of three characters swept up in the turbulence of the decade. Thirteen-year-old Ugwu is employed as a houseboy for a university professor full of revolutionary zeal. Olanna is the professor’s beautiful mistress, who has abandoned her life of privilege in Lagos for a dusty university town and the charisma of her new lover. And Richard is a shy young Englishman in thrall to Olanna’s twin sister, an enigmatic figure who refuses to belong to anyone. As Nigerian troops advance and the three must run for their lives, their ideals are severely tested, as are their loyalties to one another.

Epic, ambitious, and triumphantly realized, Half of a Yellow Sun is a remarkable novel about moral responsibility, about the end of colonialism, about ethnic allegiances, about class and race—and the ways in which love can complicate them all. Adichie brilliantly evokes the promise and the devastating disappointments that marked this time and place, bringing us one ofthe most powerful, dramatic, and intensely emotional pictures of modern Africa that we have ever had.”

The Short of It:

Tightly woven, character driven novel about the fight for Biafra’s freedom. Although this novel is fiction, it is based on historic events and achingly real at times. I could not put it down.

My Thoughts:

There are so many things to say about this novel. I was completely swept away to another time and place while reading it. It basically follows the lives of three main characters during the Nigerian-Biafran War (1967-1970). This was a brutal war where the Igbo or Ibo (eebo) were slaughtered just for being Ibo. As the world falls apart around them, Olanna and Odenigbo who have become accustomed to the finer things in life, are stripped of all their worldly possessions and forced to focus on survival.

Ugwu, the boy servant who works for Olanna and Odenigbo, ended up being my favorite character. His innocence and boyishness is so well drawn. There were times where I just wanted to shake him and say, “Silly Ugwu! What were you thinking?” We really get to know Ugwu and his thoughts as he cares for Baby, Olanna and Odenigbo’s young daughter. Ugwu is a constant reminder of the class differences within Nigeria. Although he is often considered part of the family, he quietly takes his place as the houseboy and never questions his place within the household.

There are other characters within the novel that I enjoyed as well. Richard, the Englishman that falls in love with Olanna’s twin sister, Kainene. Richard is a misfit of sorts. A struggling writer who believes in the freedom fight and will do anything to win Kainene over. Although educated, he struggles with his place in the world.

Adichie’s portrayal of a war-torn state is vividly real at times. There are some violent scenes within the book and depictions of rape. I do not have a strong stomach when it comes to rape but these scenes accurately depict the horrors that the Ibo people were forced to live with during their quest for freedom.

My book group met last night to discuss the book and it was a good discussion. Most fell in love with the characters and found the writing quite easy to follow. Although the novel is 500+ pages, you do not notice its length as you are reading it. Although it deals with a heavy subject matter, there are moments of hopefulness and even humor at times. I highly recommend this novel.

To read more about Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, click here to visit her website. Also, Jill over at Fizzy Thoughts recently reviewed this book as well. She and I are on the same reading kick right now. Click here to check out Jill’s review.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
By Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Pub. Date: May 05, 2009
ISBN-13: 9780385341004
304pp

Here’s the blurb from Barnes and Noble:

“London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.”

My Thoughts:

I didn’t like this book. There, I said it.

I know! I must be the only one on the planet who didn’t. I’ve heard nothing but favorable things about it but I just don’t feel that it lived up to all the hype. For one, I didn’t like Juliet at all. Actually, that’s not entirely true because I liked her at first. I found her correspondence to be mildly humorous but as the book wore on, I tired very quickly of the written banter between her and basically anyone else.

At first I thought that the format of the novel is what was getting to me, but no.. it was Juliet. I didn’t mind reading correspondence from the other characters in the book and found all of the supporting characters to be quite charming. I enjoyed the premise.. the idea of creating this club as an alibi for breaking curfew. I felt that it was well written overall, I just didn’t like Juliet. She seemed one dimensional to me and although my feelings were not as harsh towards the end of the book, I just wasn’t in love with it like I thought I would be and I really, really wanted to love it.

I know there are a lot of you out there that loved this book but I had a hard time finding true reviews of it. I did find one from Booking Mama. Click here to read her review. If you have a review you’d like me to link to, please leave me a comment and I would be happy to include it.

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