Purple Hibiscus (Audiobook)

Synopsis: The limits of 15-year-old Kambili's world are defined by the high walls of her family estate and the dictates of her repressive and fanatically religious father. Her life is regulated by schedules: prayer, sleep, study, and more prayer. When Nigeria begins to fall apart during a military coup, Kambili's father, involved mysteriously in the political crisis, sends Kambili and her brother away to live with their aunt. In this house, full of energy and laughter, she discovers life and love - and a terrible, bruising secret deep within her family.

Review: Tyrannically religious fathers have become a bit of an unintentional theme in my reading matter lately, and I hated this one even more than I hated Nathan Price in The Poisonwood Bible, which I had thought was impossible.

Kambili is fifteen and she lives in Nigeria with her father Eugene, mother Beatrice and older brother Jaja. Kambili and Jaja are very studious, they are grade A students and always come top of the class. When Kambili learns she has come second in the end of term test she is frightened to take her report card home - and with good reason, her father doesn't accept second best. Eugene dishes out the 'it's for your own good' style of vindictive punishment on his children and wife with increasing regularity and severity and yet, as is often the case, he is a highly respected and revered man in the local community. He's generous with his wealth and politically active, he owns a newspaper which commits itself to telling the truth about the corruption in Nigeria and is an award winning human rights activist.

On their rare visits to see their grandfather Papa Nnukwu, Kambili and Jaja are only allowed to stay fifteen minutes. Eugene considers his own father a heathen because he has not yet converted to the Catholic faith. They are not allowed to eat or drink anything at his home. It put me in mind of Harriet Smith's visits to the Martins in Emma, the shortness and awkwardness of the visit makes it almost an insult. Their grandfather however, is always pleased to see them and tries to make them as welcome and at ease as he can.

Kambili is withdrawn, devout and serious. In spite of his strict regime she loves her father, he is severe and judgmental yet also loving and affectionate, especially after meting out punishment. She understands that everything he does is for the good of God, the family and community.

By some miracle Eugene's sister Ifeoma, manages to persuade him to let Kambili and Jaja come to stay with her and their cousins. Compared to Kambili, her cousins are quite poor and live in cramped conditions but they are noisy, happy and sociable. The visit turns out to be quite a revelation for them, initially they are sent to their aunt's with their study schedules neatly written out by their father. These schedules allow only half an hour each day to be spent socialising with their cousins and aunt. Thankfully, Aunt Ifeoma confiscates the schedules until the end of the trip (I found a knot growing in my stomach about this, I was as worried about the lack of study time and possible lower test placings as they were I think) and instead they are encouraged to read, watch TV, play cards, argue, cook and garden. At first the cousins regard Kambili as a bit of a snob, because she has known no other life she is not at first aware that she needs to help with cooking or chores etc, this isn't helped by her seriousness. However, eventually they begin to understand and love her.

Whilst they are staying at their aunt's, their grandfather Papa Nnukwu, is taken ill and their aunt goes to fetch him to bring him home to stay with her. This places Kambili and Jaja in a difficult situation, they are not supposed to spend this amount of time with their grandfather, or eat and drink with him. Kambili struggles with her conscience as she determines whether she should mention this to her father during their daily phone calls, in the end she doesn't (this gave me knots as well) she begins to love listening to Papa Nnukwu's stories and watching his little rituals. Another guest that frequents the house is the handsome priest Father Amadi, he takes a shine to Kambili (much to her cousins amusement) and does his best to draw her out, taking her to play sports and generally trying to make her participate more and laugh, before she knows it Kambili begins to fall in love with him.

But there are dark times ahead. Their father finds out about Papa Nnukuwu with terrifying results (he seemed to have a touch of the Mrs Danvers about him, magically appearing in or just outside the room, just as the characters are revealing or discussing something which they don't want him to know). Kambili is our narrator, and you really do feel for her. You long for her to just do something reckless but you fear for her at the same time. She is so painfully withdrawn and lives with such love for and dread of her papa that it is very affecting. You find yourself hoping against hope that Jaja, who has grown increasingly more resentful, will eventually snap and give his father back some of his own medicine.

The only thing I wasn't keen on was the narration (Lisette sounded far too middle aged and white to be a fifteen year old Nigerian girl) and the sound quality - too much heavy breathing and swallowing. I would much rather have read this particular book.