Review: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Title: Purple Hibiscus
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Harper
Publish Date: October 2003
Source: Library

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Fifteen-year-old Kambili’s world is circumscribed by the high walls and frangipani trees of her family compound. Her wealthy Catholic father, under whose shadow Kambili lives, while generous and politically active in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home.

When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili’s father sends her and her brother away to stay with their aunt, a University professor, whose house is noisy and full of laughter. There, Kambili and her brother discover a life and love beyond the confines of their father’s authority. The visit will lift the silence from their world and, in time, give rise to devotion and defiance that reveal themselves in profound and unexpected ways. 

This is a book about the promise of freedom; about the blurred lines between childhood and adulthood; between love and hatred, between the old gods and the new."

My Two Cents:

"Purple Hibiscus" is the story of Kambili, a young teenager living under the thumb of her father who seems to only be driven by religion. He is incredibly hard on Kambili and her mother and brother. They don't have much freedom if her father does not explicitly give them permission. Kambili wants something more but she is afraid. She finally gets a chance to be outside of her father's influence when she goes to live with her aunt. This book is about many things but to me, the thing that it was about most is the moment when you start realizing that your parents are just flawed humans like yourself. We've all had those moments where you realize that your parents are human. It was so interested to see Kambili go through these thoughts about her father when he is such an imposing and controlling figure in her life. Kambili's father borders on abusive and seems to represent the religious forces that have entered Nigeria and changed the old ways to what are supposed to be new, better ways. Adichie has such a way of capturing human emotion and these universal feelings that we all have. This book is so much more than that though. There are so many things packed into this book and for that, this book is one that you find yourself mulling over long after the last page is finished. I love books that stick like that with you. I look forward to reading more by her!