Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi: *1977
Purple Hibiscus, 2003 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- The novel is about the disintegration of Kambili's family and her struggle to grow to maturity. It ends on a cautiously optimistic note.
- Information from Wikipedia
- Facts
- Winner of the 2004 "Best Books for Young Adults Award", given by the American Library Association.
- More honors
- Themes: "Students can be instructed to identify the themes as they connect them with the characters". September 7, 2018
- Critiques
- Critique: "Adichie courageously raises poignant questions without ever resorting to preaching." Ruby A. Bell-Gam, University of California, Los Angeles; December, 2004
- Short critique: "Papa is an interesting character study — a person so completely sold on the superiority of the Western mode of thought and action, especially through religion, that he will stop at nothing to see it enforced in his own house." Poornima Apte; 2004
- Review: "The fact that throughout the book Adichie worships her father shows the twisted kind of heroism he played in her life and the way that his oppressive religion was pushed onto her." September 7, 2018
- Patriarchy and Parenting in Post-Colonial Nigeria: "The power-structures are: a family ruled by a txyrant; a nation under military rule; a university under a sole administrator." Olatoun Gabi-Williams; June 2021
- Articles
- Collection of scholarly articles
- Like a Compass Pointing to Nsukka: "Purple Hibiscus explores the intricacies of family bonds through the interrelationships of its characters." Ernest Nweke; September 1, 2023
- Diversifying your bookshelf: "Adichie references the famous text Things Fall Apart, by Chinua Achebe, in the first line of the novel (“things began to fall apart at home when my brother, Jaja, did not go to communion”)." Charlotte Grimwade; April 18, 2021
- The Paradoxes of Purple Hibiscus: "Adichie is able to weave together disconcerting contradictions in a way that provokes an emotional response." by Gayathri Kaimal; July 15, 2020
- The novel can be understood within the specific contexts of postcolonial societies.: "About the growing numbers of Nigerian and African female writers whose works amplify female and younger voices in cultural, literary and socio-political discourses which have been historically dominated by older male voices." Aghogho Akpome, University of University of Zululand; December 1, 2021
- Ideology in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus by Daria Tunca University of Liège, Belgium; 2009
- Orthodox and Disciplinary Masculinities in Purple Hibiscus: "Adichie provides us with an understanding of how people can deploy violence in the name of piety and religion." Uchechukwu P. Umezurike; January 27, 2022
- An Ambiguous “Freedom Song”. One of Purple Hibiscus's most compelling features lies in its nuanced treatment of the notions of freedom and tyranny. 2009
- Issues of Personal and National Identity in Adichie’s Purple Hibiscus: "Purple Hibiscus explores the issues of ethnic tensions and political unrest in Nigeria as parallels for coming of age and issues of identity definition." The Alan Review; Fall 2012
- How culture is presented in the novel
- 20 years after the publication of Purple Hibiscus: "It forged a path for a whole new generation of African novelists who had come to America as immigrants or students." Simon Lewis, Professor of English, College of Charleston, South Carolina; October 6, 2023