Slowly (and with the help of young Father Amadi, whom she develops a crush on), Kambili begins to enjoy life a little. Though poor, Auntie Ifeoma’s house is filled with laughter, discussion, opinions and freedom, so different from the tightly regimented schedule Kambili and Jaja are used to that at first Kambili barely opens her mouth. Widowed Auntie Ifeoma is a university professor and mother of her own three markedly different children. Papa begrudgingly allows Kambili and her brother to visit his sister Ifeoma, and the trip, the first time away from their parents, is a revelation to the siblings. The three are forever in danger of breaking the rules but are never quite sure what the rules are. Mama’s miscarriages are the result of these, and Jaja has a deformed finger. But at home in their quiet marble palace, Kambili and Jaja live in fear of regular beatings: “lessons” on how to become more pious Catholics. Their father virtually supports his home village, owns factories, and, most importantly, owns the newspaper that champions free speech and the rights of the people at a time when silence is far safer. Kambili and her older brother Jaja live a luxurious life in Nigeria as the only children of a powerful man. Earnest debut about a 15-year-old girl’s struggle to blossom under the tyranny of her father’s-and country’s-strong arm.
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