African childhoods: Purple Hibiscus and Boyhood
Over the last couple of weeks, I have read Boyhood : scenes from provincial life by JM Coetzee; and Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Boyhood is set in South Africa, and told by a 'white' boy who thinks that childhood is a time of "gritting teeth and enduring". Purple Hibiscus is set in Nigeria, and a story told by a 15 year old Igbo girl, Kambili, who has to deal with an abusive father who is revered by his community; amongst other things.
Coetzee's writing is stark, kind of like the dry, dusty, stark landscapes which form the backdrop to the story. His boyhood is brutal.. no licks at home but he witnesses the licks at school. We learn of the divisions between Afrikaaner and English; and between religious denominations and classes. The child is made aware of these differences.
Adichie's writing is lyrical, flowing, like a story teller. It is a narrative which describes the brutal and the beautiful aspects of Kambili's life without causing the reader to leave the writing.
Difference here, not tribal, but between Kambili's father's Catholicism which rejects the traditional customs as heathen and not good. Papa also abuses his family violently, and Adichie describes Kamibili's dilemma of dealing with the abusive father.. in the most gut wrenching way. I think of the women who have shared their own stories.. of dilemma of dealing with their abusive fathers who sometimes loved them; one woman I remember in the space of five minutes telling me her father was a good father.. and then about his affairs, and his throwing her mother on the ground and kneeling over her and beating her while she the daughter could only look on in terror.
The writing styles are different in both books, but both beautiful. Boyhood has these short sharp sentences, linking this narrative together.. gripping. Purple Hibiscus is like the story telling.. using dialect, local language, food. The characters are all interesting... descriptions through childhood eyes.
Childhood themes are explored - parents, siblings, relationship to extended family, dealing with the violence at home and in school, sexuality, identity. In Boyhood, the boy wants to stay out of school because it serves him no purpose. Kambili works hard to please Papa , who punished her when she came second.
In Boyhood, the boy is not too bothered with family and ancestors. Kambili in Purple Hibiscus connects with her aunt and yearns for the 'heathen' grandfather.
These books give insights into the complexity of what we know as Africa .
Boyhood is set in South Africa, and told by a 'white' boy who thinks that childhood is a time of "gritting teeth and enduring". Purple Hibiscus is set in Nigeria, and a story told by a 15 year old Igbo girl, Kambili, who has to deal with an abusive father who is revered by his community; amongst other things.
Coetzee's writing is stark, kind of like the dry, dusty, stark landscapes which form the backdrop to the story. His boyhood is brutal.. no licks at home but he witnesses the licks at school. We learn of the divisions between Afrikaaner and English; and between religious denominations and classes. The child is made aware of these differences.
Adichie's writing is lyrical, flowing, like a story teller. It is a narrative which describes the brutal and the beautiful aspects of Kambili's life without causing the reader to leave the writing.
Difference here, not tribal, but between Kambili's father's Catholicism which rejects the traditional customs as heathen and not good. Papa also abuses his family violently, and Adichie describes Kamibili's dilemma of dealing with the abusive father.. in the most gut wrenching way. I think of the women who have shared their own stories.. of dilemma of dealing with their abusive fathers who sometimes loved them; one woman I remember in the space of five minutes telling me her father was a good father.. and then about his affairs, and his throwing her mother on the ground and kneeling over her and beating her while she the daughter could only look on in terror.
The writing styles are different in both books, but both beautiful. Boyhood has these short sharp sentences, linking this narrative together.. gripping. Purple Hibiscus is like the story telling.. using dialect, local language, food. The characters are all interesting... descriptions through childhood eyes.
Childhood themes are explored - parents, siblings, relationship to extended family, dealing with the violence at home and in school, sexuality, identity. In Boyhood, the boy wants to stay out of school because it serves him no purpose. Kambili works hard to please Papa , who punished her when she came second.
In Boyhood, the boy is not too bothered with family and ancestors. Kambili in Purple Hibiscus connects with her aunt and yearns for the 'heathen' grandfather.
These books give insights into the complexity of what we know as Africa .
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