Kambili and Jaja live a strict, regimented life within the walls of their affluent estate, under the iron rule of their highly religious father. A prominent and benevolent figure within the community, he is in many ways a force for good; but behind closed doors he wields a force of a different kind. When a military coup rocks Nigeria, upending their routine and impacting their father, he begrudgingly sends Kambili and Jaja away to stay with his sister, the brilliant Aunty Ifeoma; once again displaying Adichie’s tendency to have strong, smart female characters, who walk their own path, within her stories. Kambili and Jaja go to stay with Aunty Ifeoma for what becomes an eye-opening and life-changing visit; going from a large, strict house of material plenty, but poverty in terms of love and affection, to a small house surviving through rationing but resonating with deep laughter; where opinion is encouraged and prayer involves joyful song, something that would never be entertained at home. Kambili observes a vitality and freedom in living that is completely new to her. Her cousin Amaka, initially disdainful of Kambili’s naive and sheltered ways, is world wise in a way Kambili has never had the opportunity to become; but slowly an understanding and friendship develops between them, as Kambili blossoms and slowly comes into her own in small yet meaningful ways. 

I will read anything by Adichie. Her storytelling and character building are completely engrossing; she creates characters that we feel for and feel with – even the deplorable characters have layers to them – and weaves stories that completely draw us in. Purple Hibiscus is a novel that explores themes, including the complexity of family, the value of traditional religion and ritual, life in a time of political instability, the clashes that occur between colonial influence and indigenous cultures, the damaging effect of oppressive upbringings dominated by fear, religious fanaticism, and domestic violence. Difficult themes but a powerful and compelling read in the hands of a highly skilled storyteller.  

***

Purple Hibiscus was published by Algonquin Books in 2003.

***

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Enugu, Nigeria in 1977. She grew up on the campus of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where her father was a professor and her mother was the first female Registrar. She has a Master’s Degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Arts degree in African History from Yale University. She was awarded a Hodder fellowship at Princeton University for the 2005-2006 academic year, and a fellowship at the Radcliffe Institute of Harvard University for the 2011-2012 academic year. In 2008, she received a MacArthur Fellowship. Her first novel, Purple Hibiscus (2003), won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, and her second novel, Half of a Yellow Sun (2006), won the Orange Prize. Her 2013 novel Americanah won the US National Book Critics Circle Award and was named one of The New York Times Top Ten Best Books of 2013. Her most recent work, Notes On Grief, an essay about losing her father, was published in 2021. Full bio here