"One of the most vital and original novelists of her generation."
--Larissa MacFarquhar, The New Yorker
From the bestselling author of Americanah and We Should All Be
Feminists
Fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja lead a privileged
life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring
family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely
shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her
tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear.
Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically
religious and tyrannical at home--a home that is silent and suffocating.
As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and
Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city,
where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father's
authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air,
and their cousins' laughter rings throughout the house. When they return
home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the
strength to keep her loved ones together.
Purple Hibiscus is an exquisite novel about the emotional turmoil of
adolescence, the powerful bonds of family, and the bright promise of
freedom.
