Colonization brought many changes in our African values. Would we have known that our educational habits and customs would be so affected? There are many authors who, through their writings, have shown both the positive and negative impacts of this era (which certainly did not end) on our existence. Among these soldiers of African literature, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a valiant Amazon with a sparkling pen, gives us an important aspect of this problematic in her work entitled L'hibiscus pourpre, published in 2003 under the original title of Purple hibiscus and then translated in French in 2004 published by Anne Carrière.

The story in brief

Through a dramatic, tragic and even pathetic register, Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie tells the story of a family torn apart by religion. The main characters are Kambili a young girl and her brother Jaja.

They come from a wealthy family, mom a housewife and dad a businessman. Kambili and Jaja are enrolled in a Catholic school. Their father is a fervent religious very committed to charitable works on condition that one is converted to Christianity. For that, he turned his back on his father whom he considered pagan for having refused to deny his ancestral culture. He uses all possible means, including physical abuse, so that his children (page 260) and his wife (page 329) are models according to his criteria.

Deprived for ages of the joie de vivre of children, Kambili and jaja had the chance to stay with their aunt for a short time with their cousins; which allowed them to broaden their horizons. Kambili discovered love and overcame his shyness. Jaja, on the other hand, becomes a florist. Between the instability of the political power in place at the time, the strikes and the regime of their father, the two teenagers discovered each other but the departure of their aunt for America and the death of their father poisoned by their mother brought down their world. Jaja ends up in prison, Kambili takes over from their father and supports their depressed mother.

A book to savor this week

Passionate or not of reading, I invite you to let yourself be drained by this river of words to experience this story in your own way, which will give you a cocktail of feelings. For those who have already read it, leave your impressions in the comments. Good tasting.

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