Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Purple Hibiscus

Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error
Purple Hibiscus

begins with the phrase “Things started to fall apart.” In this opening, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie nods to the “father of African literature”, Chinua Achebe, and his most famous novel,

Things Fall Apart

(1958), in order to set her place as a Nigerian writing her novel in the tradition her literary forefather introduced to readers around the world. This sense of tradition and legacy permeates the entire novel.

Published in 2003, Purple Hibiscus takes the reader inside the Achike household, a well-off Nigerian Catholic family terrorized by the father, Eugene. Narrated from the perspective of the fifteen-year old daughter Kambili, this bildungsroman follows the destruction of the family at the hands of the father while Kambili comes of age. Her brother Chukwuka,

1196 words

Citation: Colleen, Clemens. "Purple Hibiscus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 February 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=16858, accessed 19 March 2024.]

16858 Purple Hibiscus 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.