If you are interested in joining us for a virtual book discussion, please email: director@natickhistoricalsociety.org.

Everyone is welcome to join a discussion of Purple Hibiscus (2003) by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

This fictional novel tells the story of fifteen-year-old Kambili and her older brother Jaja, who lead a privileged life in Enugu, Nigeria. They live in a beautiful house, with a caring family, and attend an exclusive missionary school. They're completely shielded from the troubles of the world. Yet, as Kambili reveals in her tender-voiced account, things are less perfect than they appear. Although her Papa is generous and well respected, he is fanatically religious and tyrannical at home—a home that is silent and suffocating.

As the country begins to fall apart under a military coup, Kambili and Jaja are sent to their aunt, a university professor outside the city, where they discover a life beyond the confines of their father’s authority. Books cram the shelves, curry and nutmeg permeate the air, and their cousins’ laughter rings throughout the house. When they return home, tensions within the family escalate, and Kambili must find the strength to keep her loved ones together.

This program is co-sponsored with the Bacon Free Library. It is FREE and open to the public.