Review: 'Purple Hibiscus' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

'Purple Hibiscus' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 307 pages - Instagram @c_reads_books

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Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a book is narrated by fifteen-year-old Kambili and tells the story of her life and how it turns upside down. Kambili lives a wealthy life with her brother Jaja, father, and mother in Enugu, Nigeria. Her father is an extremely devout Catholic and dominates all aspects of his children’s lives. He punishes his children, and even his wife, whenever they do anything he deems a “sin.” When Kambili and Jaja visit their aunt and cousins in Nsukka, they learn of a different way of life, one that is a different kind of wealthy, one that is full of laughter, song, and love, something they have never seen. Kambili and Jaja’s experiences change their outlooks on their own lives at home and their father’s punishments in an irreparable way.

I really loved this book. The story was beautifully told and truly took you away to another place. I also loved Kambili as a narrator, and just as a character, as she was very complex. The story told in this book is intense and emotional, while also hopeful and beautiful (as the best books are). There were some incredibly shocking moments, and throughout the whole story, I felt very emotionally involved, and was so sad to see the book end! I also really liked how the book was set up in sections (Palm Sunday, Before Palm Sunday, After Palm Sunday, and The Present) to really show how everything changed. I would probably have to say my favorite aspect of this book, though, was how the title related to the story. Kambili sees the purple hibiscus as a symbol of freedom, “a freedom to be, to do.” I think the title, as well as everything else about this book, tie together perfectly in a story that is one of my new favorites, and one that I would recommend to everyone!