Purple Hibiscus

By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Narrated by: Lisette Lecat

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a 2003 O Henry Prize winner, and was shortlisted for the 2002 Caine Prize for African Writing and the 2004 Orange Prize. In Purple Hibiscus, she recounts the story of a young Nigerian girl searching for freedom. Although her father is greatly respected within their community, 15-year-old Kambili knows a frighteningly strict and abusive side to this man. In many ways, she and her family lead a privileged life, but Kambili and her brother, Jaja, are often punished for failing to meet their father’s expectations. After visiting her aunt and cousins, Kambili dreams of being part of a loving family. But a military coup brings new tension to Nigeria and her home, and Kambili wonders if her dreams will ever be fulfilled. Adichie’s striking and poetic language reveals a land and a family full of strife, but fighting to survive. A rich narration by South African native Lisette Lecat perfectly complements this inspiring tale.

©2003 Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (P)2004 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

"One of the best novels to come out of Africa in years." ( The Baltimore Sun)

“Prose as lush as the Nigerian landscape that it powerfully evokes. . . . Adichie's understanding of a young girl's heart is so acute that her story ultimately rises above its setting and makes her little part of Nigeria seem as close and vivid as Eudora Welty's Mississippi.” ( The Boston Globe)

"A sensitive and touching story of a child exposed too early to religious intolerance and the uglier side of the Nigerian state." (J. M. Coetzee)

such wonderful writing

thank you chimamanda ngozi adichi. this is now my favorite book, at least until I read another of your novels.

Purple Hibiscus

This was a very interesting story, but I found myself falling asleep if I listened to it on a plane ride, etc. Very well-written, but not quite as enthralling as Adiche’s other book, Americanah, which I just loved. Still a good read nonetheless!

Disturbing coming of age story

Read this book for book club. It is a disturbing coming of age story. The father is the protagonist. While he is someone that has improved the lives of those in the community, his kindness is not given to his family. The book addresses difficult decisions in a complicated situation. The father is good on the outside but rotten on the inside.

Heart touching

This story takes you to understanding the complexities of human beings when loving each other. Not only romantic but filial love.

Beautifully writtern

This story is truly a great read. Spectacular climax and such a wonderful ending. I really enjoyed it.

Solid Story, gets better near the middle.

we read this for book club, and it was a great book to read and analysis with friends. a lot happened and you're perspective on characters change in interesting ways.

A MUST READ!!

This book is amazing. It was a book my daughter had to read for school and I always love reading things she’s been given. This was an awesome surprise. It’s touching and will give you many things to think about.

Great story, narrator not so good.

The book was wonderful!! I enjoyed the story so much. However, the narrator did a horrible job with the character voices and I could hear her swallowing the entire book.

Deep, fascinating, beautifully written

Although the main character and narrator is a severely abused and traumatized child, this book is laced with hope, color, and texture that move the reader far beyond the immediate and tragic circumstances of this child's life and the life of her immediate family. Her father is a sick and evil abuser, who uses religion to vent his misanthropic and twisted anger on those he loves. If there were ever a case for the twisted way religion can be used to harm people, this book makes it abundantly clear. It's a nuanced story, and a sad one, but it is not irredeemably depressing at all. Instead, one senses the hope lying just beneath the surface in the heart of the main character, and the many gifts she has been given despite the torments her family must endure at the hands of the very complicated madman, her father. It is also a portrait of Nigeria that sheds light on its growing pains from a traditionalist to a modern society.

The narrator was a very poor choice for this story. Not only does she swallow audibly throughout the entire book, which is very distracting and somewhat disgusting, but she voices all the males in the story with exactly the same intonation, so that the domineering and threatening father sounds exactly the same as the kindly brother, cousin, and priest. Also, I must say, why would Recorded Books choose a white narrator for goodness sake! She does a good job with the accents, but it's so clear that she's white, it's laughable, particularly since several of the characters in the novel make obvious points about wanting to reject the Britishness of Nigeria's history, yet here's this very British-sounding narrator telling the story. I know she's really South African, but she sounds like an upper-class Brit. Weird choice for narrator, and one I'll never comprehend. The good news is that the story is so powerful, it could not be diminished by this poor narrator.

Excellent story

This author always writes intriguing stories that are thought provoke and leaves the reader thirsting for more.