The story in "Half of a Yellow Sun" is centered around the war. The author has stated that many of the issues that caused the war remain today. She also said that the war is very talked about "in uninformed and unimaginative ways," and that the war is as important to the people today as it was in her book. Because none of the major political events were changed in the book, Adichie said that the book had "emotional truth," and that the book showed the war had a large impact on the people of Nigeria.