Purple Hibiscus

By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Mar 26, 2013
• ISBN: 9780345808110

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is the author of Purple Hibiscus, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize, Half of a Yellow Sun, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction; and acclaimed story collection The Thing Around Your Neck. Americanah, was published around the world in 2013, received numerous awards and was named one of New York Times Ten Books of the Year. A recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, she divides her time between the United States and Nigeria.

Reviews for Purple Hibiscus

[thoughtsofjoylibrary · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Purple Hibiscus is Adichie's debut novel. She introduces Kambili, a fifteen-year-old privileged Nigerian girl, along with her mother, father and older brother, Jaja. Kambili shares the daily experiences of her and her family's life and is exposed to her not-so-well-off relatives. Life inside the Kambili's home may not be so privileged after all. I can't put my finger on the deciding factor that caused me to not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped, but I do know that there were several things that made me uncomfortable. First, it took me almost half the book to become interested in the story, and the religious and political views that represented the Nigerians was unsettling. In addition, the storyline and characters both were sluggish, but they all had their purpose. Even with all my dislikes, I found it to be a well-written, good book, but not one I can rave about. I'm thinking timing played a part in my rating as well. (3.25/5)Originally posted on: "Thoughts of Joy..."

[ashleydavida-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I honestly don't know where to start in my process of review the book. I finished the novel on September 25 and I still feel feelings from the book. You know, those feelings that you get once a book touches your soul in a way that you will never be the same? It's like that. I hoped to post this review that same week, but it couldn't be done. This book is so amazing I had to perfect this review.Pure raw emotion. That's what you get from this novel. Kambili's fear of everything. The way she copes is heartbreaking. The entire novel is heartbreaking. That is what real life is like - overall heartbreaking with moments and times of joy.There is so much going on in this novel. Kambili and her family are Catholic and her dad rules the house with an iron fist. Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are terrified of not being perfect in their father's eyes. Kambili often admits "I wish I thought to say/do that" so she can be praised by her father.While her father owns his own factories and newspaper, he also donates a large amount of money to the community, gaining the title of  "Omelora". No one ever knows of the things that he does in his personal life. They don't know that he caused his wife to have a total of 3 miscarriages. They don't know that the children are afraid to get of their specified schedule that he made because they never knew how their father would punish them. The fear that he instilled in his children made them to be robots and not their actual self.That is what the novel is about. It's about a 15 year old girl finding her voice and her personal sense of freedom in a hostile living environment, both inside and outside the home. While the domestic violence and child abuse is going on in the home, outside in country  where they live, Nigeria, a military coup starts to run the country. People are dying. Conspiracy theories start to form.Despite all of this, Kambili finds her voice at her Aunts house, where she goes to stay for a bit due to certain circumstances. She finds her smile with Father Amadi. They form a friendship and affection towards one another.This novel is about choices and how even one choice is good it can still have dire consequences. It is also about having faith and accepting differences. Just because someone else have a different view of something, does not mean that they are going to hell, as Kambili learns.The interaction between Kambili and her brother, Jaja, is what makes this book. They don't speak with words often, they speak to each other with their eyes. They know how to read each other's thoughts in the stillness of the silence. They automatically know things about each other this way.The indirect main character of the novel is Kambili's paternal grandfather, Papa Nnukwu. Everything seems to be centered around him and the consequences of what happens to Kambili and Jaja after they spent time with him.This novel is shockingly breathtaking and will make you want to read it all in one sitting. I'd like to thank the Goodreads group, Readers with a Cause for picking this novel for our book discussion.This novel is being added to my favorites list.Is it one of your favorites? Let me know!

[michael_godfrey-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love those moments of serendipity that occur in a favourite second hand book shop, moments in which a hankering to return to post-colonial writers lead me to reach for a new author. In this instance it was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and I too, like one of her blurbists, noted the deliberate echo of Chinua Achebe in the very opening line of her first novel, Purple Hibiscus.As it happened it would be six years before I read it. A trip to parts of Africa inspired me to read another “coming of age” post-colonial, feminist(ish) novel, Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions . Dangarembga wrote first, and may have influenced Adichie; Achebe certainly did. But like Dangarembga, Adichie is a new generation, building on the insights of the first round of New Literaturists, building on the shoulders of the Achebes and Ngũgĩs. The terse, intercultural narrative is similar, the feminism is new. The familiar themes are there, though: coming of age as a society emerges from a hegemony that was both exploitative and yet sometimes paradoxically munificent. I do not say that lightly: the post-colonial narrative that dictates that all colonization and all Westernisation and all Christianization is destructive, evil, parasitical. It’s worth recalling for example that Botswana sought British protectorate status, that Ethiopian Christianity is as old as the religion itself, that all was not Utopia in pre-contact tribal societies. Adichie gets that. The metaphor of the purple hibiscus is a blending of DNA, if that’s the right genetic term, and underscores the entire narrative to which it gives its name. Hibiscus is not naturally purple, but with skill and manipulation and blending it can, apparently, become so. Black is not good and white is not evil. Christianity is not per se evil, nor tribal religion per se nirvana, despite some narratives that suggest this to be so. Adichie gets that. Papa Eugene, the protagonist’s abusive, destructive father is not all evil: he funds entire villages, and bankrolls the one Nigerian media outlet, the Standard, that dares to stand up to a dictatorial military government. The editor of the Standard, Ade Cocker, who sacrifices his life in the pursuit of justice, is bespectacled and jovial, an unlikely description of a martyr. Adichie gets that life is not a war comic, in which the good are handsome and the bad are ugly. Papa Eugene could so easily have been a pompous, destructive, abusive Christian bully, yet in his tortured way he bankrolls justice: just not justice for his family. Fr Amadi, the hip priest who stands as a foil to the severe and conservative Fr Benedict, stands in the narrative as a powerful symbol of compassion and justice, but those of us trained in the warning signs of pastoral care would suggest that he dangerously oversteps pastoral propriety as he permits the protagonist Kambili to fall in love with him. Yet he never exploits her love, even if he does engage in sexual brinkmanship. Kambili is a gorgeous protagonist. If Fr Amadi is undoubtedly a little in love with her, so was this aged reader by the time she left the pages with her bowed but unbroken mother. This is a coming of age novel, like Dangarembga’s Nervous Conditions , but it is more clear in Adichie’s novel that Nigeria, as well as Kambili, is coming of age in all the complexity of that passage. Other characters, too have greater complexity than the secondary characters in Dangarembga’s novel: Jaja is a complex sacrificial self-offering, and with the feisty but in the end America-pliable cousin Amaka is a more fully fleshed, fifty shades of grey human being than and caricature could offer. The only reviewer Adichie has ever taken notice of is Chinua Achebe, who admired her work. I can see why. Achebe was a man who would be proud to see the torch he lit handed on to new and more complete writers. Achebe’s torch is safe in the hands of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: this is one of the finest novels, and perhaps the finest first novel of any post-modern era writer that I have read.

[mooingzelda · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Purple Hibiscus is a rather harrowing coming of age story told from the point of view of Kambili, a 15-year-old girl living with her brother Jaja and her wealthy mother and father in Nigeria, just as a military coup takes place.We discover that Kambili's father works to give his children a strict Christian upbringing while regularly inflicting violence on their mother. There are several shocking moments where we see just how far he'll go to ensure his family meet his rigid moral standards.Kambili and Jaja get some respite when they go to stay with their aunt and her three children, who seem to live a more relaxed life despite the pressure the coup places on the aunt's job as a university lecturer and their relative poverty. Kambili is encouraged to see her real potential as a person - but this has consequences when the children return home.As always with Adichie's vivid writing, Purple Hibiscus is both compelling and heartbreaking, and peopled with characters who seem to jump off the page. Having already read Americanah and Half Of A Yellow Sun, I think Purple Hibiscus isn't quite as sophisticated in developing its themes as those novels, and I also found the ending a bit hurried and perhaps less satisfying as a result. Still, it's an incredible debut and I'm very glad to have read it. I'm so eager to see what else Adichie can produce!

[eilonwy_anne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A delicately painted portrait of a Nigerian girl coming of age in a tightly-controlled, wealthy Catholic family. While the pace is somewhat slow, and the main character's devotion to her autocratic, violent father is as frustrating as it is well-drawn, the book is interesting and deeply believable.

[tronella_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Horrible but engrossing. There was a big chunk in the middle where I couldn't put it down, because I was too worried about the characters' wellbeing.

[nicola26 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really, really loved this book. The very first chapter captivated me and the book held my attention right until the last page. The writing was good- using the exact amount of description needed to bring the book to life. The characters all felt very real and believable. The story was intriguing and emotional. I definitely did not predict the ending and it was very fitting. All in all, a very enjoyable read and one of my new favourites.

For more of my reviews and recommendations, visit my blog: here

[katiekrug · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“That night, I dreamed that I was laughing, but it did not sound like my laughter, although I was not sure what my laughter sounded like.”Chimamanda Adichie uses one small family to tell a big story about the ills of religion and the effects of colonialism in Nigeria. Kambili is a 14 year old girl who lives in awe of her father - a “big man” who owns factories and an important newspaper and is revered by his home village, where they have made him a chief, despite his only visiting once a year. Kambili also lives in fear of her father, a devout Catholic who beats his wife and children for minor infractions, both real and perceived.Much of the novel details Kambili’s conflict in admiring her father who does good things publicly - challenges government corruption, supports widows and children, is generous with food and money - but is a tyrant at home. She loves him and is terrified of him. A visit with an aunt and cousins shows her an alternative reality - a family that laughs together and challenges each other and makes the most of the little they have.As Kambili experiences a different kind of family and a different kind of church in the form of a kind, young priest, we see her grow and begin to question what was once unquestionable. It’s a nuanced coming of age story with universal themes despite its specific (and wonderfully drawn) location that is unfamiliar to most Western readers.This was my first experience with Adichie’s work, and I am glad to have three more waiting for me on my shelves.4 stars

[lovinglit · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a lovely portrayal of the inner workings of a 15 year old girl. Painfully shy Kambili lives in fear and in awe of her father, a religious and community leader. She needs his approval, and strives to make him proud of her in school and life. It is not easy, and she sometimes falls short of his limitless expectations. For this she, along with her brother and mother, are punished harshly. Kambili goes to visit her Aunt and realises there is a whole lot more to the world than what her pious father has indoctrinated her into believing. She gets to know her cousins, marvels at their ability to speak freely, and also a local priest who sees more potential in her than anyone else has. The simple writing goes well with the young and shy narrator. The story told is big enough to get by without a heavy literary style. But by that same rationale a part of me feels that if I didnt have to work hard for it it isnt quite as rewarding (just call me a sucker for punishment). I still loved the journey this book took me on, and will read more of this author.

[nicole_a_davis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's hard to stomach this story or to know how to feel at the end of it--it's heartbreaking in so many ways. Well written and evocative.

[mmaestiho · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was a beautiful heart-wrenching book that should probably be taught parallel with The Poisonwood Bible since they are very different takes on similar themes.

[saresmoore · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is remarkable for a debut. I loved the writing and the way Adichie made the setting feel so tangible. Her characters are real and complex and she doesn't shy away from tough topics, but she doesn't rely on them to propel the story, either. This matter-of-fact tone, through the eyes of a powerful young woman, still seemed poetic and poignant. There were some little descriptive repetitions that felt a bit like writing crutches and the ending felt rushed, possibly better to have let the book end before the final section. Still, I enjoyed reading this very much and it gets all the stars. I can't wait to read her other novels!

[kaitanya64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Put this on the bookshelf with Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions as one of the best novel's of coming of age as a woman in modern Africa

[almigwin · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

(Replacement copy of lost book.) First book by Adichie that I have read. I think it is extraordinarily well written, and beautifully structured. The tale is a terrible one, of a fanatically religious father, worshipped by his wife, daughter, employees and villagers. He objects to his children having contact with their grandfather or their aunt and her family because they are not conforming catholics according to his zealous definition. There is a coup d'etat and the children are exposed to violence. They stay with their non-conformist aunt and learn to question their father's fanaticism and discipline. The harm done by the violent father is not curable even by a murder. Astoundingly brilliant picture of adolescent growth and pain. Structurally, I think it is her finest book. I am reminded of [The Brothers Karamazov].

[siri51 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Disturbing novel; family violence

[janismack · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thought this book was ok. I was hoping the author would give a little insight as to why the family patriarch behaved so badly toward his family. He was a kind and generous man to others but his fanatic attitude toward the catholic religion was so extreme, I was always wondering why. The main character, his daughter was rather lackluster and lost. I liked the ending and thought this was the part of the book that made the most sense. I would not recommend this book.

[malarchy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Purple Hibiscus is the tale of a shy Igbo teenage girl and her relationships with an abusive father, an extended family, and the church during a time of military dictatorship in Nigeria. It is a complex weave of characters, most of whom have several layers resulting in a fascinating study of people. It is a well written and flowing book. The depictions of place are powerful, backed up by the occasional use of igbo vocabulary ro reinforce the location. The narrator of the tale is Kambili, a painfully shy girl learning to adapt to a changing world around her. Kambili's world is the Igbo south-west of Nigeria - sometimes known as Biafra. It is from this place and the cities of Enugu and Nsukka that Kambili's life changes. Like several of the prominent characters she is a careful study in West African influences. Kambili is a devout catholic like the rest of her family, a hard working girl who achieves high grades in school. She is the daughter of a Big Man. She is also afraid of social situations and torn between what she is taught is right and what she sees to be right.The tension inherent within Kambili is presumably partly inherent but is largely her environment. In particular her parents are models for the behaviour she represents. Her father Eugene is a pious and generous pillar of the community. He is also a brutally strict adherent to an absolute moral code that combines Christian piety with West African beligerance. Kambili's mother adheres to the code even at the cost of the violence her husband inflicts upon her. She is generally quiet and compliant, the model Kambili seems to be following.The charactersiation is impressive because it seems so accurate. It is so believable to have Kambili's father be a hero to others for his criticism of the military junta and his support for people in his community yet still be so savage in his relationship with his close family. It is probably a character only a West African could write but it is great to read.What makes it a great character to read is the loss of control the father experiences. He loses control over his children through his own extreme views. His extremism means he cannot accept his own father who never converted to Christianity. That the grandfather still believes in a traditional animistic faith is deemed abhorrent. The grandfather though is sweet and kind, not any kind of monster. The difference between the description of the pagan and the reality is what changes Kambili and her brother Jaja. When Kambili and Jaja are out of the immediate clutches of Eugene they learn more about the world. In particular they learn from Aunty Ifeoma. She is something of a paragon and her character does not have the layers of the others but she is the voice of reason, the academic who supports her own Catholic faith but is worldy-wise enough to be able to analyse things such as her brother's abusive behaviour. Ifeoma is relatively poor compared to Eugene though in reality she would still be much better off than most Igbos. Ifeoma does not have the trappings Eugene has acquired such as domestic staff, a second home, and good food all year round. Ifeoma lives more humbly in a small house provided by the university. The university is under severe pressure throughout the novel. Students riot both against the military government and for less noble causes such as acquiring exam papers in advance. The student body is seemingly something to fear.Kambili opens up while with Aunty Ifeoma, in particular opening up to her cousin Amaka. Amaka is hostile to Kambili at first but the two warm up together as Kambili finally lets out the thoughts she had previously kept inside her head.Kambili also opens up to the priest, Father Amadi. This is an extremely gentle form of sexual exploration. Amadi is a Catholic priest and therefore not available to Kambili. Her admiration for him pours out of the book but it never takes any real form as this is just the earliest hint of the flowering suggested by the title and cover. The gentle non-courtship is mostly told through Kambili's inner thoughts.The Igbo nature of this work is clear from the characters and the place. The correction of the English-reader midway through the book with a clear description of how to pronounce Kambili is spot on. However, it is not explicitly a tale about the times of these people as the interaction with security forces largely takes place in the background such as with the character Ade Coker whom the reader barely sees. Along with the novel itself there are a few pages at the back of the work containing description of the author and her influences as well as a very short story. Purple Hibiscus is an impressive character study. It is harsh at times because the people involved are sometimes harsh. The characters are deep and layered. The plot is not especially ambitious and the launch of Kambili towards adulthood is perhaps too gentle when set against the much harder characters around her.

[cwbooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

amazing book-

[ireadthereforeiam · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a lovely portrayal of the inner workings of a 15 year old girl. Painfully shy Kambili lives in fear and in awe of her father, a religious and community leader. She needs his approval, and strives to make him proud of her in school and life. It is not easy, and she sometimes falls short of his limitless expectations. For this she, along with her brother and mother, are punished harshly. Kambili goes to visit her Aunt and realises there is a whole lot more to the world than what her pious father has indoctrinated her into believing. She gets to know her cousins, marvels at their ability to speak freely, and also a local priest who sees more potential in her than anyone else has. The simple writing goes well with the young and shy narrator. The story told is big enough to get by without a heavy literary style. But by that same rationale a part of me feels that if I didnt have to work hard for it it isnt quite as rewarding (just call me a sucker for punishment). I still loved the journey this book took me on, and will read more of this author.

[bodachliath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A brilliantly realised and moving story of a teenage girl in Nigeria coming to terms with her strictly Christian and abusive father in the context of Nigeria's struggle for a post-colonial identity.

[catym_14 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fifteen-year-old Kambili is the daughter of a well-respected and wealthy Catholic factory owner whose public generosity masks the violence and repression he inflicts on his family in the name of discipline and godliness. When she and her brother go to stay with their aunt, whose family is exuberant and whose faith is joyful, things begin to change - for good and for ill - throughout the family.This book is simultaneously depressing, vivid and powerful. It's not a nice read, but it is a good read.

[deputyheadmistress_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is not a review, just a warning. I thought this was a magnificent book, but it includes several instances of brutal abuse.

[vivienner_3 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Adichie describes a religious fanatic of the worst kind. Although her prose is lovely and she evokes the characters quite well, this simple story has not much more to it than a man who savagely assaults his wife and children if they fail to obey his own twisted version of godliness. It was difficult to endure the book. I cannot recommend it to anyone.

[goofyocean110 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A beautifully told story of the dualities within family and country, told from the perspective of teenage girl Kambili in Nigeria. Briefly, Kambili's youthful world deconstructs through a combination of external conflict such as the fallout from Nigeria's Civil War, and familial conflict centered around her wealthy, powerful, generous, maniacally devout yet abusive, violent, and cheating father. At the same time, her eyes are opened to life not dominated by fear by visiting her poor yet educated aunt and cousins, accompanied by her brave brother Jaja and by spending time with the popular young Father Amadi, who is so different from her father.The numerous juxtapositions and ironies blend together to make a portrait of a family and country, tied together by the symbol of the purple hibiscus, which represents the infancy and potential of both to become something unique. Privelidge and poverty, faith and secularism, new ways and old, outward benevolence and inner demons, loyalty to family vs to the community, fear and bravery, symptoms vs. causes, all these themes are intertwined as Kambili opens up to both the reader and her family.This book is excellent for those looking for a poignant and rich story peopled by characters shaped with all five senses and diverse responses to a country in conflict. I recommend it - there's plenty in there for a lively book club discussion.

[froxgirl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This renowned author's first novel centers on Kambili, the 15 year old daughter of a wealthy, devout Catholic Nigerian family. Her father forces his two children to follow a daily schedule of schoolwork and prayer, so devastatingly restricted that they function as religious robots, unable to laugh or show any pleasure unless it is wrapped around pleasing God and their demanding father. Jaja, the son, becomes rebellious at the same time that a coup results in a repressive government takeover which is a brilliant parallel to Papa's home regime. Aunty Ifeoma, a college professor, foments freedom for her niece and nephew by inviting them to visit with her and their cousins in her modest home, with none of the daily luxuries to which Kambili and Jaja are accustomed, but with all of the affection and rambunctious fun that's missing in their lives. Events conspire to bring the two worlds of hearth and city through dramatic changes, as the reader revels in the expansion of Kambili's limited life. This is a gorgeously written coming-of-age novel with depths beyond the norm for the genre, and with a strongly demonstrative love for the city of Enugu and for the Nigerians of varied social classes and religious beliefs.

[iudita_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very good book, but having read most of her work, it seemed quite obvious to me that it was her first novel. She has developed so much as a writer. I look forward to whatever she brings us next.

[nicholasjjordan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great characters, story, philosophical and religious food for mastication, history lesson, and prose. Easy to give five stars.

[catherinestead · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fifteen-year-old Kambili is the daughter of a well-respected and wealthy Catholic factory owner whose public generosity masks the violence and repression he inflicts on his family in the name of discipline and godliness. When she and her brother go to stay with their aunt, whose family is exuberant and whose faith is joyful, things begin to change - for good and for ill - throughout the family.This book is simultaneously depressing, vivid and powerful. It's not a nice read, but it is a good read.

[smits_52 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was deeply moved by this novel. It is a heartrending story of abuse by a poweful father who is controlled by his religion. It tells the story of a rich Nigerian family and their cousins. poor Nigerians and what daily life is like in a country on the borderline of a cuop. This novel is rich in sensory detail and poignant feeling of love between a brother and sister, a twisted father, and a local priest.

[mirrani_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The words "beautiful", "touching", "amazing", "wonderful" and "enjoyable" don't even come close to describing this book. I think the only word I can find to describe it is "real", which doesn't at all reflect the perfection of writing or storytelling achieved in the pages. The author made the shortlist for the Women's Prize for Writing and is more than deserving of the notice. Her words are chosen perfectly and strung together with just enough length to make the point without rambling on. There are times the words are so well chosen that the shortest sentence makes you blink with the amount of knowledge it contains. Every character feels as real as if they were flesh and blood, standing in front of you, inviting you to their house or walking with you to their car. As I was reading the book I felt as if I had developed relationships with each of them, I would feel relief when reading about some and feel my body tense in preparation for dealing with others. I kept this book with me wherever I went so I could bring myself back to this community in Africa as frequently as possible. A world so far away from my own, became suddenly familiar to me with every page I turned.The only times I found the story difficult were when the first person narrative dealt with the abuse happening in the home, which is where the word "real" comes in, because I was so caught up in the story that I felt I had to pause to protect myself the way someone would hide from what was to come from the anger of an abuser. I can honestly say that I felt as if I lived with Kambili and her family for a short time and that I will most likely read this book again, so that I can make a return visit in the future.