Adichie: Purple Hibiscus
June 10th, 2010 by Alison
- CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
Fifteen-year-old Kambili’s world is circumscribed by the high walls of her family compound and the frangipani trees she can see from her bedroom window. Her wealthy Catholic father, although generous and well-respected in the community, is repressive and fanatically religious at home. Her life is lived under his shadow and regulated by schedules: prayers, sleep, study, and more prayer. She lives in fear of his violence and the words in her text books turn to blood in front of her eyes.
When Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili’s father, involved with the unfolding political crisis, sends Kambili and her brother away to their aunt’s house. The house is noisy and full of laughter. Here she discovers love and a life – dangerous and heathen –beyond the confines of her father’s authority. The visit will lift the silence from her world and, in time, reveal a terrible, bruising secret at the heart of her family life
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