Purple Hibiscus

PURPLE HIBISCUS

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 

Nominations: Booker Longlist 2004, Women’s Prize Finalist 2004

 

Date Read: January 15, 2023

 

The father of a prestigious Nigerian family attempts to maintain control over a family slipping away from his authoritarianism, while the country around them spins out of control. Papa Eugene has always been abusive toward his family, all in the name of God. His warped Catholic beliefs cause him to excessively punish his wife and children – from broken fingers and bones to a beating that results in Beatrice’s, his wife’s, miscarriage. As the novel progresses, his violence becomes even more egregious and puts Kambili in the hospital, clinging to life and causes yet another miscarriage. To muddy the waters and emphasize that no one person is all good nor all bad, Papa Eugene is also overwhelmingly generous to his community.

 

Jaja and Kambili have learned how to be invisible, to swallow their rage, to never – even for a moment – lose themselves in joy or pleasure, to always be vigilant to their father’s expectations. Even being second in their class can result in a beating. Just about any excuse has been used and many more will be invented. Papa Eugene is clearly unhinged. The striking contrast is this all occurs under the watchful eyes of the church. Yet, having grown up in a religious family, it’s not that out of bounds. So much violence and degradation has occurred in the name of God that I don’t know how he doesn’t roll his eyes and do away with the whole lot of us.

 

The only reprieve the kids have found is at the home of their Aunt Ifemulu who is a professor in a southern town. Her husband has recently passed away, leaving her with 3 children to raise on her own. Although her kids eye Jaja and Kambili warily, they quickly discover that the privilege the kids have been raised with does not equal snobbery. And once Kambili’s accident is known, they resort to kindness and probably pity.

 

I can’t imagine going through all of this in the first place but this family has the extra fun of having to navigate a world that his been uprooted by a coup, resulting in frequent power outages, gas shortages, jacked up prices and the fear of being “disappeared” by the military. Jaja and Kambili are not ignorant of what’s happening in the larger picture so this only adds to their anxiety and despair.

 

In some rare act of compassion, Ifemulu convinces her brother Eugene to let his kids come to her hometown for a week. With all sides begging him, he caves. This trip turns out to be one of the best vacations Jaja and Kambili every have. They can breathe without fear, sleep in safety and forget about their strict schedule for a while. Only after Papa discovers his father, the children’s grandfather is also staying with Ifemulu does Eugene lose his shit. He believes that Christians should not associate with heathens, which he argues his father is because he still worships the traditional Nigerian spirits.

 

All of this has a cumulative effect that allows Jaja and Kambili to stand up to their father. Beatrice, his wife? Not so much. She seems destined to suffer in silence, going in and out of the hospital like on a lazy susan. The kids now lay down the law and when they return to their family compound, tell their family that they are heading to their aunt’s.

 

A couple of interesting twists of note: The feelings Father Amaldi and Kambili have for each other – forbidden, wrong, so delicious. Next is the plot twist of how Papa Eugene is murdered in plain site, who admits to being the murder, who actually is and how they can create enough doubt that it was someone politically motivated to set Jaja free.

 

Adichi is so spectacularly talented that she still makes my head spin. She was just awarded a chief title in her home town in Africa, an honor that is never bestowed on a woman. She deserves all that recognition and more.