CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE - Purple Hibiscus

a novel by

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

4th Estate

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk

First published in Great Britain by 4th Estate 2004

This ebook published by 4th Estate in 2016

Copyright © Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2004

PS section copyright © Clare Garner 2005, except ‘Tiny Wonders’ copyright © Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2003

PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks

HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication

Source ISBN: 9780007189885

Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780007383696

Version: 2019-01-09

From the reviews of Purple Hibiscus :

‘One of the finest debut novels of recent years, a complex and compelling account of a 15-year-old girl’s sexual awakening and religious oppression…It is a novel as revealing as Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things , and as punchy and characterful as Monica Ali’s Brick Lane ’

Evening Standard

‘Perceptive characterisation and an evocative portrayal of a fast-changing country mark this Orange-shortlisted novel out from the crowd’

Guardian

‘Assured and evocative, it touches on domestic violence and religious fundamentalism with subtlety and sensitivity. Surely a tale for our times’

Daily Mail

‘With writing marked by infinite wisdom and heart-breaking generosity, Adichie draws the African struggle for a modern identity into the heart of family life…Balanced yet passionate, hers is an inspirational new voice and Purple Hibiscus a book to read at all costs’

Glasgow Herald

‘This is a novel that brings you into the heart of private passions. But it is also a novel that strays into political waters and does so with some subtlety’

Natasha Walter, Vogue

‘Adichie has an enviable mastery of narrative composition. Her characters are vivid. Her pacing is excellent. She has a keen sense of irony…Into her enthralling tale Adichie weaves complex themes…The result is a story which is racy but complex and stimulating. It grips the reader from start to finish. I could not put it down’

Irish Times

‘The simplicity of the transformation tale – the stuff of many oldfashioned school stories – is made more powerful by the plot’s twists and surprises and by the endearing and moving characters…Its cleverly contrived naivety opens the reader to a world of feeling containing meaning’

Sunday Times

‘This debut novel, in the best tradition of the coming-of-age novel, serves as a reminder of what serious, committed storytelling can do…Adichie draws us inside Kambili’s world through her rich descriptions of physical and domestic environments, her artful deployment of suspense and drama’

Michèle Roberts, New Statesman

‘Immensely powerful’

The Times

‘A wonderful first novel…Chimamanda’s prose is strikingly rich and evocative in this touching and accomplished debut’

INK Magazine

‘An intoxicating story that is at once distinctly feminine, African and universal’

OBSERVER

For

Professor James Nwoye Adichie

and

Mrs. Grace Ifeoma Adichie,

my parents, my heroes, ndi o ga-adili mma .

Cover

Title Page Purple Hibiscus a novel by

Copyright Copyright Copyright Praise Dedication Breaking Gods Speaking With Our Spirits The Pieces of Gods A Different Silence Keep Reading Acknowledgments P.S. About the Author About the book Read on Also by the Author About the Publisher This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental. 4th Estate An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF www.harpercollins.co.uk First published in Great Britain by 4th Estate 2004 This ebook published by 4th Estate in 2016 Copyright © Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2004 PS section copyright © Clare Garner 2005, except ‘Tiny Wonders’ copyright © Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 2003 PS™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins ebooks HarperCollins Publishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication Source ISBN: 9780007189885 Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2012 ISBN: 9780007383696 Version: 2019-01-09