Saturday, April 5, 2008

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie


I read this book for my What's in a Name reading challenge. It's only the second book of six I selected to read, so I need to get moving! This book fulfills the requirement of a book with the name of a plant in its title. I actually started to read this in February. I took it to India when we went for my brother-in-law's wedding, and I inadvertently left it at my mother-in-law's flat. By that time I was sufficiently interested in the story that I actually bought myself a new copy and picked up where I left off. Was it worth it? Sure. It was a pleasant read, but I wouldn't say it was life-altering. Here's my synopsis and review.

Purple Hibiscus tells the story of Kambili, a teenage girl growing up in Enugu, Nigeria. She is the daughter of an extremely wealthy industrialist who happens to be very devoutly Catholic. Kambili and her brother, JaJa, live sheltered lives; every moment of their lives is literally planned by their tyrannical father, who creates weekly schedules for them to follow. Life is bleak. Kambili never dares to laugh or smile; he can hardly bring herself to talk. She is a prisoner in her own mind, except her thoughts don't wander from her rigidly planned life long enough for her to realize this. Kambili and JaJa are hardly allowed to interact with their grandfather, because he still practices a traditional African religion.

However, as Nigeria begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and JaJa are sent to live with their aunt, a liberal, feminist university professor, and her children, who have been raised with happiness and joy. Kambili is both intimidated and awestruck by her cousins, the way they laugh, talk, and question so freely. She is also taken Father Amadi, the priest in her relatives' church. Life slowly beings to change for Kambili.

By the end of the novel, nothing is as it was in the beginning. The journey is heartwarming and captivating. It kept me reading. However, there are some parts of the plot that seemed a bit clunky and amateurish to me. I can forgive this--it was the author's first novel and, hey, at least she's putting pen to paper, which is more than I can say for myself. But I *am* curious to read Half of a Yellow Sun, which received infinitely more critical attention--I want to see if she's polished what promises to be a strong, respected West African voice in the future of fine literature.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tracy Chevalier Comes to Dallas

During a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art in January I noticed--with great surprise and delight--that one of my favorite authors, Tracy Chevalier, was coming to Dallas for a reading at that very museum. Not being a fiction fan, Mihir has never read her books, but I certainly have. Her best known novel is Girl with a Pearl Earring, which was adapted into a film starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. Her lasted effort, Burning Bright, is about the 18th century British weirdo William Blake, and it's just recently out in paperback. The timing of her appearance was a little inconvenient--just 3 days after our return from India, and only an hour after Mihir's flight from Atlanta landed at DFW. The poor man hadn't been home at all since we left for India, and I whisked him off to this reading. He was a good sport. What a great husband I have. The reading didn't disappoint. As someone who would love to write, I'm always enthused to hear about authors' inspirations and work habits. Ms Chevalier is very inspired by art and the process of creating art. While I don't necessarily share that affinity, but she did validate my suspicion that inspiration comes from a variety of places, and few authors are the same. It was a great evening for me. I've long wanted to meet her, and she made it an experience to remember.