Hello people, I am back and as promised, I have a wonderful Nigerian book that you should try.
Purple hibiscus is about an Igbo girl called Kambili from Enugu State in Nigeria. Kambili lives with her mother (Mrs Beatrice), older brother ( Chukwuka) mainly referred to as Jaja and her abusive father, Mr Eugene.
Eugene, Kambili’s father, whom she refers to as “Papa” throughout the book is a wealthy businessman who is also a very strict Catholic who dominates his family by imposing a harsh religious regime in the family home. He is abusive towards his children and wife and his method of punishment are very very extreme. From whipping to scalding his children with boiling water, Mr Eugene sees these punishments as a cleansing method so that God can have mercy on them.
Kambili is a smart and bright girl who has no other option but to be the top student in her class as failure to do so attracts punishment and her father’s disapproval.
Purple hibiscus is written from Kambili’s point of view. Her life with an abusive dad and her brother, 17 years old, blames himself for not being able to protect his mother and younger sister. Kambili lives a life that is literally designed by her father. She has a TIMETABLE that covers her entire week from waking up to going to bed, all activities had a place in that timetable.
Eugene’s sister, aunty Ifeoma is the only one in the family that can stand up to her brother and is not afraid to say her mind. Aunty Ifeoma is a single mother with two children and is also a professor at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN. The school still stands today). She suggests that Kambili and Jaja should spend their holiday at her house as they don’t have the pleasure of ever leaving the house.
Kambili for the first time experiences what freedom feels like and even ends up having a forbidden crush on an aspiring Reverend father 🙃 it was cute but never meant to be 😢.
I will be ending my review here 😸 I don’t want to spoil the book for those who are interested in reading it.
Purple hibiscus is a book that I love. I love the storyline, the author and I have been to some of the scenes where the book was based on 😁 I love the author, Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie. She is a role model to plenty of Nigerian girls and I especially love her writing. Her books take you to the story. You can feel the emotions that the characters feel, their joy, sorrow, crush and tears.
My rating for this book hits the roof. I give it a 100 out of 10 that’s how good the book is. I especially love how strong they all stayed despite the way their father treated them. It is something that I don’t think I can pull through. I admire Jaja’s bravery towards the end of the book.
If you think this book is good then you would love my next review. Last days at Forcados high school 😊 it’s an amazing book that can be read in a day or two depending on how fast you are.
That will be all for now, until next time. Before I go, I want to thank Kent Wayne aka dirty sci-fi Buddha. He has been my secret motivation. You guys should check out his books. They can be found on his WordPress page just search for dirty sci-fi Buddha.
Byyyeeee 👋🏽👋🏽😁
Jessica writes reviews 