Rating is 4/5
"The purple hibiscus" is a story of the sheer joy of being different.
Set in Nigeria, it revolves around Kambili, the narrator and her brother Jaja who belongs to a family where their father Eugene takes the place next to God. Outside Eugene is a charitable and highly respectable man who doesn't step back from helping the needy and supporting the truth. However being the staunch follower that he is, he takes rules and sins too seriously, not even taking a backseat from inflicting pain upon his own children when they made the slightest of mistake.
Things change when a military coup takes over the administration in their hometown and Kambili and Jaja are sent to live with their aunt.
The story progresses through a change in Jaja's religious beliefs and outlook, Kambili's change from a shy girl seeking her Papa's approval in everything, to a confident one who wouldn't be afraid to indulge in the little joys of life.
The book is truly a complete package shedding light on the conditions in Africa, the chauvinistic approach of the religious men, the hardships of those different in terms of religious and social views, of teenage adoration, of a bonding between a brother and a sister and other massive transformations throughout the plot development.
The story at the end leaves us with hope that indeed darkness gives way to light and 'karma' does her work, sometimes delayed or sometimes just in time.
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