Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

Finally getting to more of Chimamanda's backlist! This is actually her debut novel, which is really impressive, and this one is set entirely in Nigeria. The main character is 15-year-old Kambili, and I suppose this book is primarily a coming-of-age novel. Her father is an extremely religious man, who is generous and loving towards his kids... but also abusive and domineering, and really strict when his family does anything he sees as sin. Her family starts changing when she and her brother go to stay with their aunt for the first time and experience a household where laughing and discussion are allowed.

This book addresses a lot of themes, primarily religion. I had no idea that so many Nigerians had been converted to Catholicism by missionaries, and seeing the clashes between this "white religion" and their traditional cultures was really fascinating. The father, who reminded me of my own dad in many ways, was also really interesting, as he could be so loving but also so terrible. Not a lot of big things happen in the book until the ending, but I was really impressed with how Adichie ratcheted up the tension, because you just knew things had to change and it couldn't end well. She's a wonderful writer. Plus it was just a really good look at normal life for people in Nigeria.