Kambili is a fifteen-year-old girl who recounts three years of her life. Along with her brother Jaja and their mother Beatrice, she lives under the strict control of Eugene, their father and Beatrice’s husband. A deeply devout Catholic, Eugene has cut ties with his own father who refusing to convert and rules his household according to his uncompromising religious beliefs. Behind his image of piety, however, lies a violent man who regularly abuses his wife and children. When Kambili and Jaja spend time with their Aunt Ifeoma, they discover a very different kind of family life – one where children are encouraged to speak freely and where Catholicism coexists peacefully with traditional Igbo beliefs. This experience gradually opens their eyes to a different way of living. I found this story deeply moving. Kambili is such a subdued and sheltered teenager that she knows no truth other than the one imposed by her father. The novel offers a powerful portrayal of religious intolerance and domestic abuse, showing how faith can be twisted into a tool of fear and control while preaching the opposite.
“And I carry them with me, also, because they give me grace. Amaka says people love priests because they want to compete with God, they want God as a rival. But we are not rivals, God and I, we are simply sharing. I no longer wonder if I have a right to love Father Amadi; I simply go ahead and love him. I no longer wonder if the checks I have been writing to the Missionary Fathers of the Blessed Way are bribes to God; I just go ahead and write them. I no longer wonder if I chose St. Andrew’s church in Enugu as my new church because the priest there is a Blessed Way Missionary Father as Father Amadi is; I just go.”