(Re)fashioning Biafra: identity, authorship and the politics of dress in half of a yellow sun and other narratives of the Nigeria-Biafra war

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s second novel, Half of a Yellow (2006), is one in a long line of works by Nigerian authors to portray the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967-1970). While Adichie has stated that she wanted to make modern Nigeria aware of its history by writing the novel, the writer has also revealed that she drew from past literary portrayals to construct her narrative. In order to untangle the complex construction of Half of a Yellow Sun, this article explores the way the novel negotiates the literary legacy of Biafra through material fashion, which I argue elucidates this complex intertextuality. Furthermore, I contend that the novel draws attention to and critiques the way that understanding of Biafra has been dominated by novels written by male authors, and weaves threads of material fashion in order to offer a new way of negotiating Nigerian history.