Chimananda Ngozi Adichie.Acclaimed Nigerian writer Chimananda Ngozi Adichie was born in 1977 in Nigeria and raised in the town of Nsukka. At 18 she moved to the United States and went on to complete her MA in Creative Writing at Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University, mainly at Baltimore, Md. Johns Hopkins in 1867 had a group of his associates incorporated as the trustees of a university and a hospital, endowing each with $3.5 million. Daniel C. . She gained recognition as a writer with the publication of various short stories, but her breakthrough came with her first novel Purple Hibiscus hibiscus: see mallow. hibiscus Any of about 250 species of shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants that make up the genus Hibiscus, in the mallow family, native to warm temperate and tropical regions. , for which she received the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. She was awarded the prestigious Orange Prize for Fiction The Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, awarded annually for the best original full-length novel by a female author of any nationality, written in English and published in the UK in the preceding year. in 2007 for her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Purple Hibiscus Purple Hibiscus recounts the moving story of Kambili, a 15-year-old girl growing up amidst the chaos of a turbulent political environment and her fearful home life with her violently religious father and subservient mother. Kambili and her brother Jaja, though terrified ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. of his patriarchal rule, still revere their father's approval and have come to know only his structured and militant way of parenting. But things begin to change when the government is overthrown by a coup and Kambili and Jaja go to stay with their Aunty Ifeoma in a neighbouring town; they are deposited into a world they can barely recognise, with their Papa - Nnukwu who practises traditional ceremonies and their aunt and cousins whose lives overflow with joy and loud laughter. Kambili watches as Jaja matures almost instantly in this new environment, his shoulders broadening as he works in Aunty's garden. And, after time, Kambili learns her capacity for smiles, conversations and laughter, as her friendships grow with her cousin Amaka and the charming Father Amadi. As Kambili and Jaja adapt to this new and joyful existence, they begin to realise the terrifying ter·ri·fy tr.v. ter·ri·fied, ter·ri·fy·ing, ter·ri·fies 1. To fill with terror; make deeply afraid. See Synonyms at frighten. 2. To menace or threaten; intimidate. impact their father's violence and control has had on their lives. Purple Hibiscus is a beautiful coming-of-age story that explores the exhilaration and freedom that accompanies growing up but also the fear in recognising that your past will always be a part of who you are. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Half of a Yellow Sun Set in the context of the brutal 1967 Nigerian civil war The Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War, July 6, 1967 – January 13, 1970, was a political conflict caused by the attempted secession of the southeastern provinces of Nigeria as the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra. , Half of a Yellow Sun delicately weaves together the stories of three very different, yet intertwined characters. Thirteen year old Ugwu, a poor houseboy house·boy n. A male servant in a house. from a remote Nigerian village, is forced to fight and survive in the Biafran army. Beautiful and rebellious Olanna has forsaken for·sake tr.v. for·sook , for·sak·en , for·sak·ing, for·sakes 1. To give up (something formerly held dear); renounce: forsook liquor. 2. her life of privilege to live with her lover Odenigbo, a charismatic revolutionary and fiercely anti-colonialist professor. And Richard, a shy and self-conscious Englishman studying traditional Igbo-Ukwu art is enchanted en·chant tr.v. en·chant·ed, en·chant·ing, en·chants 1. To cast a spell over; bewitch. 2. To attract and delight; entrance. See Synonyms at charm. by Olanna's enigmatic twin sister. As the war engulfs them, these characters are pulled apart and thrown together in ways they never imagined, testing their loyalties and challenging every notion of who they thought they once were. Harrowing, absorbing and profoundly real, this beautifully written novel explores the impacts of the Biafran war on the wealthy and poor, educated and peasant alike. It intricately captures the growth, change and maturity of each character as they struggle to deal with their rapidly changing lives. Epic, ambitious, and triumphantly realised, Half of a Yellow Sum 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. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Visit the Sister Namibia Resource Centre! Our Resource Centre houses a large collection of books, research studies, policy documents, videos and training manuals on women's rights The effort to secure equal rights for women and to remove gender discrimination from laws, institutions, and behavioral patterns. The women's rights movement began in the nineteenth century with the demand by some women reformers for the right to vote, known as suffrage, and as well as gender and development issues - with a specific focus on women's political leadership, health, HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. and Aids, sexuality and sexual rights. We also have a collection of novels and poetry by African women writers, and literature by and for lesbian women. Call us at Tel 230618 or 230757 to make an appointment for your visit. Introduced by Aubrey Naughton and Natalie Redstone |
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