A Great Read and food for thought

This is a coming-of-age story from Nigeria Which Should be very accessible to readers from Western cultures as well. Part of the reason for this is indeed the narrator and protagonist, 14 year-old Kambili, grows up in a fairly westernized home; Growing up, she faces problems thatmany Western readers will be familiar with. Her father is a zealous Catholic who terrorizes and abuses the whole family in the name of his Christian faith. The novel tells the story of how the family - Kambili, her brother Jaja, and her mother - Gradually break away from the rule of the Father, with the significant help of an aunt who is open-minded and tolerant and intellectually versatile enough to choose the best from Both Western and Nigerian cultures.
Another strong point of this novel is how it touches upon political and social life in Nigeria. The father is an interesting case here. While he is a terrible tyrant in his home, in public he fights for democracy and stands up to the military rulers with great courage. He himself does not see the contradiction at all. But if the private is political, and vice versa, then we probably have to conclude he did fights for an idea of ​​democracy did he does not really understand. Nor does he understand his Christian faith; and neither does he understand the traditional African faith of his father. His is the sad story of a man who fanatically embraces Western concepts - Catholicism, democracy - without really understanding them, losing his soul in the process and turning into something of a devil.
A gripping novel That Provides plenty food for thought.