Half of a Yellow Sun Audiobook By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie cover art

Half of a Yellow Sun

Preview

Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Half of a Yellow Sun

By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Narrated by: Zainab Jah
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $24.75

Buy for $24.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A haunting story of love and war from the best-selling author of Americanah and We Should All Be Feminists.

With effortless grace, celebrated author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a 13-year-old houseboy who works for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who has abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene. Half of a Yellow Sun is a tremendously evocative novel of the promise, hope, and disappointment of the Biafran war.

©2017 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (P)2017 Random House Audio
Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military War Heartfelt Inspiring Tearjerking Thought-Provoking
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Critic reviews

"This prize-winning author's place in literary history is secured with [ Half of a Yellow Sun], a tribute to her people, the Igbo, who after being massacred in 1966 broke away from Nigeria to create the Republic of Biafra. [But] this novel is not a standard war account: Though we are not sheltered from its horrors, Adichie excels in the way she tells about war.... Her characters' strengths are in their complexity and their flaws.... Throughout the story, Adichie insists on accountability and then forgiveness as the only option for redemption.... By the end, after breaking our hearts, she uses her last sentence to blindside us with a gift. We never see it coming. With it, she offers hope in the future." (Marie-Elena John, Black Issues)
"[It's] hard not to place Adichie alongside a new generation of post-postcolonial writers who, while paying due respect to Achebe (and, for that matter, Kincaid, Naipaul, Gordimer, and Coetzee), are moving beyond them on their own terms.... Adichie's nuanced prose takes great pains to undo the reductive attitudes many in the West harbor toward African people.... And yet Adichie does not rant against the West.... [Criticism] and compassion coexist. She understands that it takes many hands to shape war.... For Adichie, pain unifies us, and it's often that same pain that keeps us from recognizing that unity.... Adichie's novel [has], a narrative humility coupled with an epic ambition.... Are there any easy answers in [ Half of a Yellow Sun]? Certainly not. But Adichie, in the process, asks the hell out of her questions, rendering them in all their haunting, beautiful silence." (Stephen Narains, Harvard Book Review)

Featured Article: 65+ Quotes About Love from Much-Loved Authors


While saying "I love you" speaks volumes, there are times when you yearn to express your feelings for a loved one—whether a cherished friend, serious crush, or your soul mate—in a way that's more creative, more eloquent, more memorable...in a word: quotable. For those times, there's no better source to turn to than great authors. We've collected some of most tender, most romantic, and most passionate quotes from the world's most-loved authors.

What listeners say about Half of a Yellow Sun

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,254
  • 4 Stars
    251
  • 3 Stars
    55
  • 2 Stars
    15
  • 1 Stars
    5
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,217
  • 4 Stars
    143
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    4
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,091
  • 4 Stars
    215
  • 3 Stars
    51
  • 2 Stars
    11
  • 1 Stars
    6

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book, sad ending

I didn't know anything about the Nigerian civil war or even that they had one before this book. I didn't realize what kind of story I was getting myself into. I come away with learning about some history. But the last few chapters left me feeling depressed :( I didn't enjoy that aspect, and rarely do I come across a book with a sad ending. I gave 4 stars for the depressing ending. The book was well written. I was throughly engaged and immersed in the story with the characters, I could feel myself being there in the scenes and feeling my emotions as if I were there.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book but skip the audio

Good book but better as a physical copy than on audio. I usually listen to audiobooks while I multitask but this book required more focus imo so I think it would’ve been better to read a hard copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful, educational narrative

both the author and the narrator have true gifts for story telling. I particularly liked learning about a civil war and country I had never heard of before. I feel inspired to educate myself much more!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

I was transformed and transcended into Biafra. I now understand my Igbo brothers and sisters. Thank you ❤️

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The rising sun shall rise someday

Beautifully written and beautifully read. Thank you so much I truly appreciate the time and effort you put in the story, it was all worth it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The hype is true

Adored the story and the storyteller. This is a story about resilience and the importance of preserving ancient cultures and traditions.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Love💛

I have read all of Chimamanda Adichie's books, this one made me feel every emotion known to man. Brilliantly performed and written. I feel so connected to her characters.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Very good

A very well told
story of civil war and Biafra and Nigeria and mostly of love. Incredible narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Enlightening

I am an African American woman with a determination to learn about other cultures

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Absolutely Breathtaking!

This book made me so happy that I actually have a subscription to audible. The writing by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is phenomenal. There is no comparison implied in this statement but she in the league and level of Toni Morrison in her ability to craft and weave a story full of rich and tangible characters. The narration by Zainab Jah transported me and gave me the feeling I had long since forgotten from childhood when I first learned the power of books to propel you into another world. The personification and acting out of the characters through the solitary use of her voice added such a depth and richness to the story where I felt as though the characters were a part of my life. I actually dreamed about them in a way that I hadn’t dreamed about character from books since I was young. If you are on the fence, get off this is a must have, a must read, a must listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!