Half of a Yellow Sun is a novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Published in 2006 by Knopf/Anchor, the novel tells the story of the Biafran War through the perspective of the characters Olanna, Ugwu, and Richard.
Plot
The novel takes place in Nigeria prior to and during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–70). The effect of the war is shown through the dynamic relationships of five people’s lives including twin daughters of an influential businessman, a professor, a British citizen, and a houseboy. After Biafra's declaration of secession, the lives of the main characters drastically changed and were torn apart by the brutality of the civil war and decisions in their personal lives.
The book jumps between events that took place during the early 1960s and the late 1960s, when the war took place, and extends until the end of the war. In the early 1960s, the main characters are introduced: Ugwu, a 13-year-old village boy who moves in with Odenigbo, to work as his houseboy. Odenigbo frequently entertains intellectuals to discuss the political turmoil in Nigeria. Life changes for Ugwu when Odenigbo’s girlfriend, Olanna, moves in with them. Ugwu forms a strong bond with both of them, and is very loyal. Olanna has a twin sister, Kainene, a woman with a dry sense of humor, tired by the pompous company she runs for her father. Her lover Richard is an Englishman who has come to Nigeria to explore Igbo-Ukwu art.
During the mid-to-late sixties, twin sisters Olanna (Thandie Newton) and Kainene (Anika Noni Rose) return to Nigeria after their education in England, they make decisions that shock their family. Olanna moves in with her lover, the ‘revolutionary professor’ Odenigbo (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and his houseboy Ugwu (John Boyega) while Kainene takes over the family interests and pursues a career as a businesswoman, falling in love with Richard (Joseph Mawle), an English writer.
As the Igbo people struggle to establish Biafra as an independent republic, the sisters become caught up in the shocking violence of the Nigerian Civil War and a betrayal that threatens their family forever.
Yellow Sun was the first British operational high-yield strategic nuclear weapon. The name actually refers only to the outer casing; the warhead (or physics package) was known as "Green Grass" (in Yellow Sun Mk.1) and "Red Snow" (in Yellow Sun Mk.2). The ENI or electronic neutron initiator (generator) was Blue Stone.
Design
The casing was some 21 feet (6.4m) long, 48 inches (1.2m) in diameter. The Mark 1 version with the Green Grass warhead weighed 7,250 pounds (3,290kg). The Mk.2 version with the lighter 1,700 pounds (770kg) Red Snow warhead had ballast added to maintain overall weight, ballistic and aerodynamic properties, and avoid further lengthy and expensive testing, and changes to the electrical power generating and airburst fuze.
Unlike contemporary U.S. bombs of similar destructive power, Yellow Sun did not deploy a parachute to retard its fall. Instead it had a completely flat nose which induced drag, thereby slowing the fall of the weapon sufficiently to permit the bomber to escape the danger zone. Additionally, the blunt nose ensured that Yellow Sun did not encounter the transonic/supersonic shock waves which had caused much difficulty with barometric fuzing gates which had plagued an earlier weapon, Blue Danube.
Yellow sun is shining in the afternoon I'd really like to tell you but I feel it's too soon My actions are dictated by the phase of the moon The phase of the moon The sun it isn't hiding when it sets on you It's not a coward like me and I know but it's true Waiting for the darkness now is all I can do It's all I can do And if the sun should follow us into your room Then the courage will be robbed from me to tell you the truth The setting sun's the only thing that's shining on you That's shining on you You're making me hungry But what's really funny's it's not sunny anymore And when I finally told you when the sun has gone You're laughing 'cause I thought I was the only one And the only thing that's left for me's the rising sun The rising sun You're making hungry, you're making me hungry But what's really funny's it's not sunny anymore It's not sunny anymore, it's not sunny anymore, it's not sunny anymore....
Based on the novel by celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun masterfully depicts the impact of war on ordinary people ... Is Half of a Yellow Sun available to watch via streaming?.
