Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Oct 2003
307 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
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.
"In a soft, searing voice, Adichie examines the complexities of family, faith and country through the haunted but hopeful eyes of a young girl on the cusp of womanhood. Lush, cadenced and often disconcerting, this is an accomplished first effort." - Publishers Weekly.
"This is a harsh story, almost unbearable at first, but beautifully written." - School Library Journal, recommended for adults & high school.
"This impressive first novel is redolent in its depiction of the Nigerian countryside and generates a palpable narrative tension over what's to become of Kambili and Jaja's newfound sense of freedom." - Booklist.
"Quiet, chilling, and heart wrenching, this debut novel is both a superb portrait of an unfamiliar culture and an unflinching depiction of the universal turmoil of adolescence." - Voya, recommended for young adults and up.
"The stunning denouement underscores the power of family love. Written with great sensitivity, this debut shows why Adichie has already won several awards." - Library Journal.
"Like many first-novelists, Adichie tries for too much; her portrayal of Kambili's home life is striking but provides far too incomplete a depiction of Papa. Her portrait of Nigeria is fascinating but fragmented. Auntie Ifeoma and the cousins are likable enough but not memorable. Nonetheless, with Kambili the author has created a compelling narrative-and a surprising punch at end." - Kirkus.
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Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Photo © Okey Adichie
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born
in Nigeria in 1977. She is from Abba, in Anambra State, but grew up in the
university town of Nsukka where she attended primary and secondary schools and
briefly studied Medicine and Pharmacy. She then moved to the United States to
attend college, graduating summa cum laude from Eastern Connecticut State with a
major in Communication and a minor in Political Science. She holds a Masters
degree in Creative Writing from Johns Hopkins and a Masters degree in African
Studies from Yale.
Purple Hibiscus won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and the
Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. It was also short-listed for the Orange Prize and
the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and long-listed for the Booker Prize. Her short
fiction has appeared in Granta, ...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Website
Name Pronunciation
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Chim-muh-MAHN-duh en-GOH-zee ah-DEECH-ee-(ay) The “ay” is soft, not quite a diphthong.
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