Purple Hibiscus by Chimamande Ndozi Adichie

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This novel is set in Nigeria and explores the coming-of-age of Kambili, a 15-year old girl, and her older brother, Jaja. Kambili and Jaja live together with their parents in an opulent home with marble floors and high walls which keep out intruders. Author Chimamanda Adiche deftly examines the intricate relationships among the family members, including Kambili's aunt, who is a central character in the novel.

What I liked best about this book is how the author weaves the symbol of "purple hibiscus" throughout the narrative. This actes to provide deeper insight into the motivations, beliefs, and feelings of certain characters without it being explicitly stated in the text. I also like how the characters in the novel act in surprising ways which makes the ending unexpected and, in a way, satisfying.

Overall, this is a good story. I love the author's language. She provides such a rich description of the West African harmattan that I could feel the dust on my skin and taste it in my mouth. Her similes and metaphors have an African sensibility that give her work a feeling of authenticity. My rating for this book is 5 out of 5 stars.


View all my reviews

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This story centers around the disappearance of a young wife living in a picturesque British town. Author Paula Hawkins mainly narrates the story through Rachael, a woman who sees the young wife when she rides the train in to London everyday. However, several chapters are narrated by other characters who are also central to the story.

What I like most is how the author makes this more than a who-done-it mystery. A main theme is memory and what influences it. The book shows that our senses, the suggestions of others and even our view of ourselves all have an impact on how we remember things. It is as Rachael, the main character, interrogates and recovers her memory that we find out what happens to the disappeared wife.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this psychological thriller. The author's prose is beautiful and pushes the story forward by it preciseness. The resolution is very satisfying -- but of course I'm not going to tell you what it is! I rate this book 5 out of 5.


View all my reviews

Oil on Water by Helon Habila

Oil on Water by Helon Habila
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Oil on Water is framed around the search for a missing/kidnapped British woman who is being held captive by "militants" in the country of Nigeria. Nigerian writer Helon Habila narrates the story through the voice of Rufus, a young reporter who is asked by the kidnapped woman's husband to meet with her captors to verify she is alive.

What I think the author does best is to give the reader a sense of how the international oil industry drastically changed the lives of ordinary fishing villages located around the oil refineries. The grime, pollution, and smell of the oil altered the lives of the people in predictable ways, such as affecting the viability of the fishing industry; but also in less predictable ways, such as creating new tensions and divisions within local societies over how they should respond to their new realities.

Overall, I liked the book because it showcased the important work of "witnessing" that newspaper reporters do. The main character Rufus is energetic and relentless. By the end of his journey he comes to realize how important it is for him to write a story that gives voice to all the actors in this saga. My rating of this book is 4 out of 5 stars.


View all my reviews

Maps by Nuruddin Farah

Maps by Nuruddin Farah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Monalisa's 3-paragraph review of Maps by Nuruddin Farah

This is a coming of age story about a Somali boy (Askar) who is raised by a female Ethiopian servant (Misra) who is employed by his family. The story is set in the country of Somalia which is located in the "Horn of Africa." The political backdrop of the story is the 1970s Ogaden War between Ethiopia and the Western Somali Liberation Front. I knew little about this conflict before reading the book, but now I know that many ethnic Somalis live in the Ogaden, though it is part of Ethiopia.

What I like most about this book is the author's examination of the relationship between Askar and Misra. Askar's parents are both dead and he ends up living with his paternal uncle. It is there that he is placed in the care of Misra. Askar is a peculiar child. He struggles to come to terms with the circumstances of his birth as he searches to find his place within his uncle's household. He forms an almost unnatural bond with his caregiver Misra, which the author spends a lot of the book describing. Sometimes the author's prose is cryptic and I wasn't sure whether or not Askar was daydreaming. At first I found this annoying, but then I came to believe that this was the author's way of letting the reader into Askar's stream of consciousness.

Upon adolescence, Askar moves away from Misra into the home of his maternal uncle, located in the Somali capital, Mogadishu.  While living with his uncle he come to take on more of Somali identity and he sympathizes with the aims of the Western Somali Liberation Front.  When Askar hears that Misra has collaborated with the Ethiopian force that occupied his paternal uncle's village, he is determined to find out if these accusations are true.  And when Misra comes to visit, he has conflicting feeling about the woman who, for all intents and purposes, was his Mother.

Overall I enjoyed reading a story set in Somalia, although I found this particular one a bit slow-moving. I wanted to care more about the main character, but I never really made a connection with him or Misra. After reading this book I would definitely read another by this author. It also makes me want to read more about Somali history and culture. My rating for this book is 3.5 out of 5 stars.


View all my reviews