Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Set against the backdrop of civil unrest and a military coup in Nigeria, Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a coming-of-age story of fifteen-year-old Kambili. The story unfolds in Kambili’s first-person voice.
Kambili lives at home with her father, mother, and brother. Kambili’s father, Eugene, is affluent and well-respected in the community. Kambili tries to reconcile her father’s esteemed position in the community with the father she experiences at home. Eugene is a fanatic Catholic, determined to stamp out even the slightest whiff of indigenous traditions. He runs his household like a prison camp, always on the lookout for behavior he considers deviant. His punishment is swift and cruel. He physically abuses his wife and children if they do not meet his unrealistic expectations. His family lives in perpetual fear, treading carefully around him and saying only what they think he wants to hear.
The extent of their oppressive home life becomes apparent to Kambili and her brother when they visit their Aunty Ifeoma. Although living in poverty, Aunty Ifeoma and her children are happy. Their home is infused with laughter, songs, and unrestricted chatter in a relaxed atmosphere. They exhibit pride in their Nigerian heritage, indigenous traditions, and spirituality. The experience of a healthy home atmosphere prompts Kambili and her brother to rebel against their father. He punishes Kambili so severely she is hospitalized. After her mother commits a desperate act to protect her children, it falls upon Kambili’s shoulders to assume responsibility for holding the family together.
Adichie’s characters are rich with ambiguity. On the one hand, Eugene is a generous man. He donates regularly to charitable causes, feeds the hungry, pays tuition for children whose parents are poor, gives to the church, and lives up to his reputation as a leader in the community who can be counted on to help. On the other hand, he is intransigent, cruel, violent, dictatorial, and brutal towards his family.
Kambili struggles with the conflicting images of her father. She desperately wants to win his approval and savors his praise and attention. But she also lives in abject fear of his violent temper. As the novel progresses, her voice strengthens and becomes increasingly discerning. She recognizes her father has suffocated any hope of a healthy home environment with his fanatic religiosity and iron-fisted control of his family’s daily activities.
Kambili is shy, fragile, and vulnerable. Her voice is authentic. At first, she discloses her father’s acts of violence through hints and innuendo as if to indicate a reluctance to acknowledge his cruelty. Her stay with Aunt Ifeoma exposes her to a way of life free of violence and fear that she never knew existed. Initially embarrassed by her ignorance of the outside world, she eventually bonds with her cousins and learns to adapt. She blossoms. She experiences first love. She grows in strength and aptitude.
Adichie delivers a sensitive coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of political and domestic violence. It ends on a hopeful note with Kambili as a mature, self-assured young woman who assumes the role as head of the family.
Highly recommended.