Purple Hibiscus - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A bold statement to make, but this is my favourite book of 2019 so far. And so far I'm 20 books in to the year. This may even be in my top 20 books of all time - that's how much of an impression as it has left on me! It was my first Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie novel, and I have already been out and purchased Half of a Yellow Sun because this author just really blew me away from the first couple of chapters I read. The novel's protagonist is fifteen-year-old Kambili, a Nigerian devout Catholic from a privileged family living in Enugu. Although she and her brother Jaja are fortunate, live in a beautiful house and have two parents who love them, there is a much deeper issue rooted within the family. 

Kambili's father is the most problematic character in the novel as, despite his devotion to his religion and generosity within the community, he is also oppressive, tyrannical and violent towards his family. This violence is exhibited whenever one of them veers from the strict timetable he has produced for them, which allows the children very limited time to relax and socialise and prioritises hours of prayer, study and work. One of the most poignant images early on in the novel was the beating of Kambili's mother Beatrice who subsequently miscarries her baby. Adichie's portrayal of this event is so harrowing that you almost want to slam the book shut and cover your eyes, but cannot help but be completely gripped by the story.

Kambili is so faithful to her fanatically religious father that she cannot see the psysical and psychological oppression and violence that she is subjected to, as the children and their mother are beaten and punished whenever they challenge him. This is so extensive that even when Kambili does not receive top of her class at school (she comes a close second), she is harshly punished. But she remains devoted to her father and brainwashed into thinking that she deserves this sentence, and feels extreme guilt if she does not adhere to the militant rules of her father. This is until her and Jaja are sent to stay with her Aunt Ifeoma once the country begins to fall apart under a military coup. Aunt Ifeoma raises her children in a much more liberal and free-speaking form of Catholicism, and Kambili begins to experience a far happier home than the suffocating environment of her father's house. 

Despite the difference in economic status - as Kambili has been raised in a luxurious and grand house with abundant food and wealth, whereas Aunt Ifeoma's flat is modest and cramped - her aunt's house offers her the loving family and freedom she has never experienced. The novel explores Kambili's journey from a silent, downtrodden and suffocated child, who never smiles or laughs, into a blossoming, happy and carefree young woman who blooms under the care of her aunt and loving cousins. The novel also explores her first encounter with romantic love, and realisation of sexual awakening - something which she has never before allowed herself to consider the possibility of. 

Without giving any more of the plot away, I would urge you to read this beautiful novel! It raises problematic questions and moral dilemmas which Adichie forces you to consider when reading, and her writing style is addictively gripping. This is one of those books you sit down to read and find yourself completely absorbed 250 pages later - oops!