Locating the African in African Literature

For a long time, African literature has grappled with the realm of the exotic—one-dimensional western interpretations of what it is to be African. Half of a Yellow Sun is my favourite novel by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. In addition to its intricate plot and beautiful narrative style, it was my first comprehensive encounter with the affairs of Nigeria’s civil war. I use the term ‘comprehensive’ deliberately. My father fought for Biafra during this war, and so playful military drills,

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