Papa takes Jaja and Kambili back to Enugu, and Amaka gives Kambili her painting. The next morning the family discover that Papa-Nnukwu has died in his sleep. Papa finds out that Papa-Nnukwu is staying in the house. Kambili is confused by her feelings and his “unpriestly” demeanor. He makes her chase after him and tries to get her to talk. One morning Kambili observes Papa-Nnukwu’s morning ritual, which is similar to Catholic confession.įather Amadi takes Kambili to the local stadium. Father Amadi visits often, and Kambili finds herself attracted to him. Ifeoma hears that Papa-Nnukwu is sick, and she fetches him from Abba. Father Amadi, a young, handsome Nigerian priest, comes to dinner.Īs the days progress Jaja opens up, though Kambili remains silent and confused. Jaja is fascinated by the purple hibiscuses in Ifeoma’s garden. Kambili and Jaja arrive and are surprised by Ifeoma’s poverty, but also the constant laughter in her house. Ifeoma convinces Papa to let Jaja and Kambili visit her in Nsukka. The next day Papa catches Kambili breaking the “Eucharist fast” as she eats some food along with a painkiller she needs to take for menstrual cramps, and he beats her, Jaja, and Mama. On Christmas Papa feeds the whole village. Ifeoma takes Jaja and Kambili to an Igbo festival.

Her children- Amaka, Obiora, and Chima-are precocious and outspoken. She seems fearless and willing to criticize both Papa and the government. Aunty Ifeoma, Papa’s widowed sister and a university professor, arrives in Abba as well. Kambili and Jaja visit Papa-Nnukwu briefly. Papa’s father, Papa-Nnukwu, lives there, but Papa doesn’t speak to him because his father sticks to his traditional religion and won’t become Catholic. Later Kambili takes her exams and comes second in her class, disappointing Papa.Īt Christmas the family goes to their home village of Abba. When they return home Papa beats Mama until she has a miscarriage. Mama feels sick and doesn’t want to leave the car. After Mass one day the family visits Father Benedict, their white priest. He publishes a newspaper, the Standard, which is the only paper willing to criticize the new Nigerian Head of State.

Papa, a wealthy factory owner, is an active philanthropist in public and an upstanding Catholic, but at home is a strict and violent authoritarian. Kambili then explains the events leading up to this scene. Jaja refuses to receive communion at church, and Papa throws his missal, breaking Mama’s beloved figurines. Kambili Achike, the narrator, is a fifteen-year-old girl living in Enugu, Nigeria with her father, Eugene ( Papa), mother, Beatrice ( Mama), and older brother, Chukwuku ( Jaja).

Adichie purple hibiscus