Way back when the Reading Group started, our second ever read was by the author of Purple Hibiscus (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie). Some years later and we've returned to her first novel. A good discussion ensued - and everyone who had read the book enjoyed it. It's not a lengthy read, but very engaging. The story centres around Kambili, her family and in a sense, her coming of age, all taking place in a tumultous time in Nigerian history. Kambili's father and his treatment of his two children gave us plenty to talk about. As did the question of why her brother and mother behaved the way they did in the end. The story is peppered with food references that none of us were familiar with, which created frustration or an exotic mystery to the experience!
A popular question amongst the Reading Group is 'why The Title' - for example, why Purple Hibiscus? (Kambili's brother planted a purple hibiscus at home, without their father's permission, it was a plant that was out of place, a neat bit of symbolism!)
Next we talked about The Hunger Games. This trilogy had been recommended by group members and some of us had gone on to read them too (including me, and I see what all the fuss is about).
Other titles we discussed included:
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
Trespass by Rose Tremain
Painter of Silence by Georgina Harding
Stasiland by Anna Funder
The Moment by Douglas Kennedy
Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick
House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard
Bringing up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel
Next time:
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
3 July 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18267716
