Purple hibiscuses post #2

Kambili idolizes her father and will do anything he asks in a heart beat. The father is even more of a control freak then I thought, even controlling when the kids wash their clothes and how they have to present themselves. At the moment the narrator is going in the past and describing how life was before Palm Sunday and before her brother began to see the corruption in his family. Kambili gets upset how her mother doesn't care about much even when violence takes a part in their lives but I have a sense of peace and clarity as I read on. The day before Palm Sunday the achikes come to visit, a wealthy family, and mama does her best to make it seem life at their house is grand and special. They came over the house to have their prayer group which practices and sings in a way that papa would flinch if he heard them. Later on after Palm Sunday and the religious traditions that came about Kambili goes on to tell that papa and Jaja were playing chess while listening to the radio and this is when we hear about the government and how there was a coup and a new government will be introduced in Nigeria. Since the narrator of the story is a little girl we never get a full explaination of what corruption is going on outside the family but we hear bits and pieces. The main focus is the tragedies that take place in front of Kambili in her everyday life.

Purple hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

So far purple hibiscus is grabbing my attention. It starts off telling the story of a 15 year old girl going to church and her brother seems to be no where in sight. She looks around and sees how her father looks blank, as he usually does when he is in the presence of others. When they get home the father expresses how upset he is with her brother not through his words but through his actions. The father, papa as he is called by Kambili, throws a missal which is a book for church at jaja. He misses him and hits the ceramic figurines that the mother cherishes and doesn't seem to care that he destroyed them. As I read further into the book I see that the father is violent and is sneaky about it, not letting the people outside of the house find out how he really is. He wins awards for being so good and involved in the church but to me, he doesn't deserve them. He is one of those people that think all you have to do to get into heaven is be involved in church and your actions don't reflect you. I see a theme of religion and belief reoccurring throughout the chapters and this is causing problems within the community and the family as well. Many disagreements take place along with other problems outside of religion. There is corruption in the world going on around this family that they can't do anything to stop. Kambili talks about the flowers and how they give off the scent of freedom, symbolizing that the family is learning and going in opposite ways. She asks her mother one night if she plans on replacing the figurines that papa has destroyed and she says no, almost showing me that she has given up with trying to stop papa from being violent. Jaja on the other hand speaks up about it and won't allow himself to obey a man that doesn't respect him.

Alice in Zombieland

I finally came to the conclusion of the book and I can honestly say that I am shocked. This is by far my favorite book, with all the plot twists and the dramatic love story between Alice and Cole I couldn't stop reading. In the end Alice and Cole realized they are meant for each other and that the visions they have are glimps of the future for them. The rabbit cloud in the sky that seemed to follow Alice wherever she went was actually a sign from her deceased little sister. Everything tied together nicely at the end and left a good opening for the next book in the trilogy. I can't wait to see the next stop on the train for Alice and the adventures waiting ahead for the gang. Each character has such a strong background story that it makes you as the reader have a personal connection with all of them. From just the first book it left me speechless and I know the other two will too. Now, the only problem that I am going to face is when I get to the last book, what am I going to do with my life? All in all, it was a very good book and I recommend to anyone who loves a good dramatic book in their life!