Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - Tammy's review

Title: Purple Hibiscus

Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Longlist 2004; 320 pages

Synopsis (from B&N): "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."

Comments and Critique: I loved this book! This is one of the best books that I've read in years. The author pulls you in right from the start and makes you care about the characters, in part because she makes them so real. Their dialogue and actions never seem forced or out of sync. The overall language and sentence structure are absolutely beautiful. I can't think of a single thing negative to say about this book, other than I hated to get to the end.