....And Then The Fandoms Came

Title: Purple Hibiscus 

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adicihie 

Pages: 300+

Type: Library loan 

Summary: 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. (From GoodReads) 

Triggers: abuse

Thoughts/Feelings/So Forth: So, I liked this a lot. I thought it was really good. It was one of those books I was sucked into immediately without too much effort on my part. Adichie is a great writer and story weaver. Before I knew it I was completely captured up in this story wondering how it would it end and what would happen. I do love how this novel did acknowledge colonialism and racism. This is not to say that I automatically expected it not to, but it is was nice and refreshing to see that it was there, if that makes sense. I really enjoyed reading this. 

I will say that I wish there was a bit more explanation on things, especially near the end. However, given what happened, I suppose it's one of those the fear of the unanswered question is able to be dealt with a lot better than the fear of the answered question, if that makes sense. Which would make sense, because that's one of the, not necessarily themes, but little things within the novel. Granted, it's usually used in a different situation but I can see where it can be applied here I guess. 

I do like the way the story is told: how we're brought it, then told the background, and then we go to present day and beyond. I read this format a lot, and sometimes it doesn't always work out for me. However, here it worked out really well. 

Like I said, I did really like this, and I look forward to reading other work by this author. 

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Link to GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/126381.Purple_Hibiscus