Half of a Yellow Sun
Nigerian novelist, born 1977. Won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2007.
Half of a Yellow Sun is a 2006 novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It won the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2007.
In family saga
On 6 of the 14 lists it was eligible for.
The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.
At a glance
- Author
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- First published
- 2006
- Length
- 448 pages (UK paperback)
- Awards
- Women's Prize for Fiction winner, 2007
- Genre
- Literary fiction, War and conflict, Political, Family saga
Is Half of a Yellow Sun worth reading?
6 of the 14 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian) and the Women's Prize for Fiction.
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019) | Listed | See the list |
| Richard & Judy Book Club picks (Richard & Judy / WHSmith, 2004-) | Listed | See the list |
| The 100 best books of the 21st century (The Guardian, 2019) | No. 10 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels of all time (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 62 | See the list |
| The Big Jubilee Read (BBC Arts and The Reading Agency, 2022) | Listed | See the list |
| Women's Prize for Fiction (winners and shortlists) (Women's Prize Trust, 2007) | Winner | See the list |
Best edition of Half of a Yellow Sun
The edition we link to is the Fourth Estate paperback (2025), 448 pages.
- Publisher
- Fourth Estate (paperback, 2025)
- Pages
- 448
- ISBN
- 9780007200283
How critics, prizes and readers rate Half of a Yellow Sun
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 50% of the points available on critics' lists, against 33% on prize lists and 25% on readers' and booksellers' lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like Half of a Yellow Sun
If you liked Half of a Yellow Sun, try Americanah, Catch-22 or Wolf Hall.
