Registering for the reduce Mt TBR challenge 2009.

In places harrowing, but also gripping as the story of the Bafran/Nigerian civile war unfolds in the 60s. All I could remember was the pictures of starving children on the TV (I was a child at the time!) so this was interesting from the historical point of view as well. releasing as part of the 2009 colour challenge and for the Reduce Mt TBR challenge as well.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Sending off to Bongalonga as part of the 2009 colour release & suspect to help her with the rainbow challenge!

Received with thanks from Millycat

An excellent book about the Nigerian civil war - I never knew before that there had been a Nigerian civil war. The characters in this are endearing, so much so that it hurts to discover their imperfections. A tough one to put down.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Passed to JanetSP as one of her first Bookcrossing books :-)

Passed on by Bongalonga. Have just recently finished reading Purple Hibiscus so may wait a while before reading this.

Received back from JanetSP. To be an international bookray:

A masterly, haunting new novel from a writer heralded by The Washington Post Book World as "the 21st-century daughter of Chinua Achebe," Half of a Yellow Sun recreates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra's impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria, and the chilling violence that followed.

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 they 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.

Please PM me if you are interested.

This is now an international Bookray.
A few guidelines:
1. Journal the book when you receive it so I know it arrived safely.
2. Personal message the next person and make a note that you've done so.
3. Take as much time as you need to read it, but try and move it along within a reasonable time.
4. Mail the book to the next person. PLEASE put on a journal entry or release note when you've done this.

Planned route (subject to change):

Bongalonga - UK
jsara - US (Int)
bookworm76 - Australia (Int) <--- book is here
Miss-Owl - Thailand (Int)
LittleDachshund - Bulgaria (Eur)
wickedlazy - UK (UK/Eur) - requested to be towards the end

Have PMed jsara to start this off

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book has now commenced its journey - sent off to jsara. Enjoy :-)

I just received this in the mail today and have it on the top of my TBR pile.
Thanks!!

an amazing story!

the book is on it's way to bookworm76 in Australia. Just put it in the mail today. (sorry I was so slow with this one!)

enjoy!
jsara

UPDATE: online shipment tracking shows it was delivered on March 31. much faster than I thought!

Book is here - I have been away working and was here when I got home

sending off to the next person on the list

Received it yesterday together with another book. Such a pleasant surprise! Thank you bookworm76.

Update 3/09/2010: I'll need 2 more weeks to finish this book. I hope it's not a problem.

This book really impressed me. I haven't heard of the Biafran war until now and the story captivated me despite the hororrs of war, the starvation, the hardships. I liked the style, the characters and the way the story unfolded. Ms. Adichie has become one of my favourites.

Waiting for wickedlazy's address to post the book.

Edit on 21/09/10: Posted to wickedlazy today.

Safely received today, with thanks

A thoroughly gripping story. I had no idea that there had been a civil war in Nigeria till now. It was not so much the actual war and bombs and shooting that terrified me, but the thought of parents watching their children slowly starving to death. The author has done a great job, it's all wonderfully written.

Given to Gemma at The Lotus Rooms.