1. Adichie,Purple Hibiscus,Chapel Hill, NC:Algonquin Books,2003,3. Subsequent citations of page numbers are included in the text.
2. Kourouma,Allah n'est pas obligé,Paris:Seuil,2000,11. Subsequent citations of page numbers are included in the text. The translation of the novel into English being crucial to its reception as part of the “child-soldier novel” genre, this essay relies on Frank Wynne's excellent translation, but translations of passages cited here have been modified as necessary.