The most famous piece of literature in my country is a book titled 'Half of a Yellow Sun' written by Chimamanda Adichie. It was first published in 2006 and is about the civil war which occurred in Nigeria in the 1970's.
The setting of the novel is in a town in Nigeria and it shows the effects of the war through the relationships of four different people ranging from a professor, a British citizen and a houseboy. The main characters are Ugwu, a 13 year old boy who goes to live with Odenigbo, a university professor to live as his houseboy. Life, however changes for Ugwu when Olanna, Odenigbo's girlfriend moves in with them and he somehow forms a strong bond with the couple. Some years later, trouble starts to brew between the northern and eastern tribes and hundreds of people die in the massacres including Olanna's uncle and auntie.
As a result of the existing conflict, Odenigbo, Olanna and Ugwu are forced to flee their city to live as refugees in a small town where they suffer food shortage and constant air raids. The book is the author's first work and in 2007, won an orange prize for fiction which included a $30,000 cash prize. I have read the novel and I think it is really interesting.
It sounds like a brilliant book Valentine, thanks for sharing this.
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