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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a wonderful and sad book. Kambili is such a beautiful character and her inner-dialogue is both honest and frustrating. Particularly during the beginning of her stay with her aunt where you just want to force her to speak up and come out of her shell.
A review I read mentioned how we’re kind of thrown into her world, with little explanation to certain things but how it’s so easy to just embrace it all as someone’s story because you’ve only been invited to have a glimpse at this one place in their lives. And honestly, that sums up so many feelings about this book.
The complex relationship with her father is a work of art for a book of fiction, how someone can be two things at once regardless of their sheer hypocrisy. Along with how the silence in the book slowly falls to the background and as you read the story, you come to life with Kimbili.
Adichie’s voice is lovely the way she truly embraces the first-person perspective. With such little effort, you feel as if you’re also swimming in Kimbili’s thoughts trying to figure out the same questions she is. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a bit of a fast-paced book with more emotional weight to it. Also recommend for anyone interested in stepping outside of literature molded by American culture and seeing that regardless of religion, race and geography, people struggle with similar demons. A truly beautiful and sad story.
A review I read mentioned how we’re kind of thrown into her world, with little explanation to certain things but how it’s so easy to just embrace it all as someone’s story because you’ve only been invited to have a glimpse at this one place in their lives. And honestly, that sums up so many feelings about this book.
The complex relationship with her father is a work of art for a book of fiction, how someone can be two things at once regardless of their sheer hypocrisy. Along with how the silence in the book slowly falls to the background and as you read the story, you come to life with Kimbili.
Adichie’s voice is lovely the way she truly embraces the first-person perspective. With such little effort, you feel as if you’re also swimming in Kimbili’s thoughts trying to figure out the same questions she is. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a bit of a fast-paced book with more emotional weight to it. Also recommend for anyone interested in stepping outside of literature molded by American culture and seeing that regardless of religion, race and geography, people struggle with similar demons. A truly beautiful and sad story.
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
The audiobook narration was a bit off for my taste. But the story is remarkable
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
Okay, so let me be clear: I think everyone should read this. It's a beautiful book, with an equally beautiful and heartwrenching story. I now know so much more about Nigeria and Igbo culture than I did before (which was admittedly very little) and I love that Adichie didn't hold my hand through it, insisting on keeping Igbo language in the story without always translating it. Another major point: I think this has some of the best characterisation of domestic abuse that I've ever read in a fictional story. I could feel Kambili's panic, her heart racing, her hypervigilance. Her fear of her father and his control of the family leapt out from the page, and was made all the more tense by the political situation the characters found themselves in. The effects of colonisation vs domestic violence were juxtaposed beautifully, in my opinion. I only rated it a little less than I would have because the subplot with the young adult priest seemed a little weird; it was fine that Kambili had a crush on him, of course, but he seemed a little too familiar with her in a way that made me think he was gonna take advantage of her vulnerability and continue the cycle of abuse. I'm glad he didn't, but still, it could have been toned down a little because it wasn't necessary for the story for his eyes to linger on her, or her cousin to make INCESSANT jokes about how they were lovers. Big yikes from me.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death, Violence, Death of parent
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Read this as our second novel for IB English. What an enthralling, horrible, invigorating, terrible read (in the old English definition, as in terror-ible). No spoilers but like wtftftfttfftftftftftt. What the
hell....... It's an interesting view on this family and their lives.
(Unrelated but I learned ab the Ikenga in APAH and that's Igbo just like them ☝️🤓 wonder if Eugene has one or Papa-Nkuwu).
Explores being in a new environment and how that changes your views on life. Again, so terrible, but knowing Adichie took this from her own like, even having the main protagonist's name sound like hers, il
Go watch her Ted Talk 🫵
https://youtu.be/D9lhs241zeg?si=ibV50...
"The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete" and "I recently spoke at a university where a student told me it was such a shame that Nigerian men were physical abusers... I told him that I had just read a novel called "American Psycho" and it was such a shame that young Americans were serial murders" clock it. (I think ab that line quite a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
More reviews on www.jirrinereads.wordpress.com
This book was really interesting on two levels. One the first level it is my first encounter with a book by an African author set in a country where I know very little about. The time period is right about a military coup and the consequence of that coup are very visible. The second level is the story of Kambili and her family. In their situation the military coup is a part of the background rather than the main event in their lives.
So first, the military coup. I know, like I said, little to nothing about the history of Africa. That is really one of the reasons for me to pick this up. The situation that Nigerians had to deal with is terrible. There is scarcity of food, water, electricity. Basically everything. Even a well trained professor like Kambili’s aunt has problems with feeding her family. People disappear when they speak out against the regime. The people revolt but nothing really changes. Instead of staying and trying to chance things the educated people are fleeing to America. How awful this may sound, this was not the main theme of this book. I was really the backdrop to which this story was set. A reminder that things can be terrible outside your door but that they can be even worse inside.
Kambili and her family live a good life. Kambili’s father is wealthy and own a newspaper and several factories. They have enough money for food and life in a big house. Kambili’s father Eugene is a devoted Christian. They go to mass every Sunday and there are lengthy prayer sessions before each meal and before bed. Eugene is in essence a good person, a really loving father and husband. But, and this was difficult to accept for me at first, he is a good person despite the terrible things he does in the name of Christianity. His abuse was not OK, but it was not fueled by his hatred but rather by his fear for the wrath of God. This shed an entirely new light on how behavior works. Beliefs can make you a better person, but also a more evil person. Kambili loves her father. Sometimes she is ashamed she does. Especially when Eugene lashes out against her brother Jaja, or his wife. But Kambili understand why her father does it. I think that this takes incredible courageous; she remains believing in the goodness of her father.
Jaja, is different. He cannot reconcile the goodness of his father (that he believes in at first) with the abuse. When Jaja and Kambili go to live with her aunt for some time, they see how different a family can be. At first they are strangers to their cousins but something beautiful happens when they strengthen their family bonds. Here is where Jaja can bloom and become his own person. From then on he goes against his father. He reacts in ways Kambili never can. The ending is unsuspected and it took me some time to figure out what was happening after the last page. This read was really powerful and provided me with new insights.
This book was really interesting on two levels. One the first level it is my first encounter with a book by an African author set in a country where I know very little about. The time period is right about a military coup and the consequence of that coup are very visible. The second level is the story of Kambili and her family. In their situation the military coup is a part of the background rather than the main event in their lives.
So first, the military coup. I know, like I said, little to nothing about the history of Africa. That is really one of the reasons for me to pick this up. The situation that Nigerians had to deal with is terrible. There is scarcity of food, water, electricity. Basically everything. Even a well trained professor like Kambili’s aunt has problems with feeding her family. People disappear when they speak out against the regime. The people revolt but nothing really changes. Instead of staying and trying to chance things the educated people are fleeing to America. How awful this may sound, this was not the main theme of this book. I was really the backdrop to which this story was set. A reminder that things can be terrible outside your door but that they can be even worse inside.
Kambili and her family live a good life. Kambili’s father is wealthy and own a newspaper and several factories. They have enough money for food and life in a big house. Kambili’s father Eugene is a devoted Christian. They go to mass every Sunday and there are lengthy prayer sessions before each meal and before bed. Eugene is in essence a good person, a really loving father and husband. But, and this was difficult to accept for me at first, he is a good person despite the terrible things he does in the name of Christianity. His abuse was not OK, but it was not fueled by his hatred but rather by his fear for the wrath of God. This shed an entirely new light on how behavior works. Beliefs can make you a better person, but also a more evil person. Kambili loves her father. Sometimes she is ashamed she does. Especially when Eugene lashes out against her brother Jaja, or his wife. But Kambili understand why her father does it. I think that this takes incredible courageous; she remains believing in the goodness of her father.
Jaja, is different. He cannot reconcile the goodness of his father (that he believes in at first) with the abuse. When Jaja and Kambili go to live with her aunt for some time, they see how different a family can be. At first they are strangers to their cousins but something beautiful happens when they strengthen their family bonds. Here is where Jaja can bloom and become his own person. From then on he goes against his father. He reacts in ways Kambili never can. The ending is unsuspected and it took me some time to figure out what was happening after the last page. This read was really powerful and provided me with new insights.
A strong read indeed. The book let me see such a society which i never knew existed.
I had some problems reading the book in ease as many words are written in Igbo language. But in overall this was one of my finest read of 2018
I had some problems reading the book in ease as many words are written in Igbo language. But in overall this was one of my finest read of 2018