Perfection. Not saying this story isn't heavy, but the literary quality of it is top notch. It follows the story of two upper class sisters and their relationships with the men in their lives, servants, family, and friends, during the Nigerian Civil War in the 60s where part of the country became the nation of Biafra. I know nothing about Nigerian history but learned and appreciated learning about Biafra through this book.

I identified most with the character of Richard, a British man who is engaged to one of the sisters. He first moved to Nigeria to be a stuffy anthropologist, observing "their" culture. But then he learns the language, builds his life there, is invested in Nigeria on an emotional and psychological level. Adichie masterfully shows the delicate balance and subtle shifts of self-perception in living in a second culture. In the beginning, Richard has an offensive colonialist mindset about Nigerian culture. Then as he starts to learn the language, he becomes angry when people revert to speaking in English with him. Then after he becomes fluent, he gets angry at other tourists for being like he used to be. And he also feels disappointed when Nigerians stop being surprised that he can speak their language. IT ME.

Anyways, this story is masterful and there are SO MANY different themes and things to think about.

PS the audiobook is great. Narrator does a wonderful job.