Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was born in Nigeria in 1977. Her first novel, 'Purple Hibiscus, (2003), was longlisted for the Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her second novel, 'Half of a Yellow Sun, (2007), won the Orange Prize for Fiction. Her short story collection, 'The Thing Around Your Neck,, was published to critical acclaim in 2009. Her work has been selected by the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association and the BBC Short Story Awards and has appeared in various literary publications, including 'Granta,, 'Zoetrope, and 'The Iowa Review,. She lives in Nigeria.
'A beautiful and often harrowing story.' Observer Books of the Year 'A sensitive and touching story of a child exposed too early to religious intolerance and the uglier side of the Nigerian state.' J. M. Coetzee 'Political brutality and domestic violence, religion and witchcraft all merge with subtle force in this memorable novel. Chimammanda Ngozi Adichie uses childhood innocence to write Nigerian history with the eye of a family insider.' Hugo Hamilton 'Purple Hibiscus is the best debut I've read since Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things.' Jason Cowley, Times journalist, literary editor of the New Statesman 'This debut ensnares the reader from the first page and lingers in the memory!in soft, searing voice, Adichie examines the complexities of family, faith and country through the haunted but hopeful eyes of a young girl on the cusp of womanhood.' Publishers Weekly