Purple Hibiscus
First edition
|
|
| Author | Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie |
|---|---|
| Country | Nigeria |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Algonquin Books Kachifo Limited Kwani? Trust (Kenya) |
|
Publication date
|
October 2003 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| 823.92 | |
| Followed by | Half of a Yellow Sun |
Purple Hibiscus is a novel written by the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. It was first published by Algonquin Books in 2003.
Purple Hibiscus is set in postcolonial Nigeria, a country beset by political instability and economic difficulties. The central character is Kambili Achike, aged fifteen for much of the period covered by the book, a member of a wealthy family dominated by her devoutly Catholic father, Eugene. Eugene is both a religious zealot and a violent figure in the Achike household, subjecting his wife Beatrice, Kambili herself, and her brother Jaja to beatings and psychological cruelty. The story is told through Kambili’s eyes and is essentially about the disintegration of her family unit and her struggle to grow to maturity. A key period is the time Kambili and her brother spend at the house of her father’s sister, Ifeoma, and her three children. This household offers a marked contrast to what Kambili and Jaja are used to. Though Catholic, it practices a completely different form of Catholicism, making for a happy, liberal place that encourages its members to speak their minds. In this nurturing environment both Kambili and Jaja become more open, more able to voice their own opinions. Importantly, also, while at Aunty Ifeoma’s, Kambili falls in love with a young priest, Father Amadi, which awakens her sense of her own sexuality. Ultimately, a critical mass is reached in terms of the lives of Kambili, Jaja and the existence of their family as it once was. Unable to cope with Eugene’s continual violence, Beatrice poisons him. Jaja takes the blame for the crime and ends up in prison. In the meantime, Aunty Ifeoma and her family go to America to live after she is unfairly dismissed from her job as lecturer at the University of Nigeria. The novel ends almost three years after these events, on a cautiously optimistic note. Kambili has become a young woman of eighteen, more confident than before, while her brother Jaja is about to be released from prison, hardened but not broken by his experience there. Their mother, Beatrice has deteriorated psychologically to a great degree.
Kambili Achike is the central character in Purple Hibiscus and also the narrator of the story. Kambili is shy and inhibited, at least until she has spent an extended amount of time away from her family home at the house of Aunty Ifeoma and her family. Kambili is the younger of Eugene and Beatrice Achike’s two children. She does not like the living environment under her father after she gets used to the freedom of Nsukka. She was a very quiet girl at the beginning of the novel but after staying with her Aunty Ifeoma, she builds up her courage and opens up much more towards other people..
...
Wikipedia