A review by lulum14
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

medium-paced

3.0

This book was interesting. I was also required to read it for school, so I had already approached the book with doubts. However, the beginning wasn’t terrible. I did like some of the language the author used, and it was interesting to learn about a different culture and how Christianity and religion impact people. I also thought that the complexity of Papa was interesting. It reminds me of some of my religious family members, but reversed and on a smaller scale. I have great memories with some of them, and yet, they also are MAGA Christian Nationalists who are against basic human rights.  So, I'm glad the author included this complex character in her novel. However, something I simply COULD NOT get over was Kambili’s relationship with Father Amadi. At first, it was alright, and I thought it would be some sort of mentorship where he teaches her to have fun and laugh more, etc. BUT NO! The author just HAD to make it weird. Kambili is 15 and Father Amadi is at LEAST in his 20s, so you can imagine my surprise when he told the 15-YEAR-OLD, “You have nice legs for running.” Like, why are you looking at her legs!!!!??? Thankfully, they never kissed or anything, but there were many other comments made by the other characters about how in love they looked. It just felt so off-putting and unnecessary for the plot. If the relationship wasn’t there, I think I would have liked the book a lot more, but it was so strange that I couldn’t focus on anything else. Additionally, the ending was weird.

It felt so random that Jaja said he killed his father, even though his mother wasn’t under any suspicion. It also felt rushed at the very end, and the 3-year jump only added to that.