Purple hibiscus

The novel is set in postcolonial Nigeria , suffering from economic difficulties and political instability. The hero narrator is the fifteen-year-old Kambili Achiki, the daughter of the highly successful businessman Eugene, a devout Catholic . Eugene is a house tyrant: he physically and psychologically abuses his wife, Beatrice, the daughter of Kambili, the son of Judge. Maturing Kambili watches the gradual disintegration of her family.

The key moment of the story is Kambili's stay with her brother at her aunt’s house after Ifeoma’s father, mother of three children: Ifeoma’s life is not at all like the one Kambili and Judja are used to at home. The Ifeoma family is also Catholic, but of a completely different type: it is customary for these happy people to freely express their thoughts. At the same time, Kambili falls in love with a young priest, Father Amadi, which changes her ideas about her own sexuality .

Having not endured endless violence from Eugene, Beatrice poisons her husband. Judja takes the blame on herself and goes to prison. Aunt Ifeomu is unjustly dismissed from her post as a lecturer at the University of Nigeria , and she and her family are leaving for America . The final of the novel, imbued with cautious optimism, is three years from its beginning. Kambili becomes an eighteen-year-old girl, more self-confident than before. Judja is about to be released from prison - fierce, but not broken. The mental state of their mother, Beatrice, has greatly deteriorated.

The novel received numerous positive ratings ^{[4] [5] [6]} and was awarded several awards - in particular, the Commonwealth Prize for the best writer’s debut ( 2005 ). ^[7]