Ratings176
Average rating3.6
Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. The novel was first published in the UK in 1962 by William Heinemann Ltd, and became the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series.
The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo ("Ibo" in the novel) man and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian clan of Umuofia. The work is split into three parts, with the first describing his family, personal history, and the customs and society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introducing the influence of European colonialism and Christian missionaries on Okonkwo, his family, and the wider Igbo community.
Things Fall Apart was followed by a sequel, No Longer at Ease (1960), originally written as the second part of a larger work along with Arrow of God (1964). Achebe states that his two later novels A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), while not featuring Okonkwo's descendants, are spiritual successors to the previous novels in chronicling African history.
Featured Series
3 primary booksThe African Trilogy is a 3-book series with 3 primary works first released in 1958 with contributions by Chinua Achebe.
Reviews with the most likes.
Life changes and sometimes the changes are drastic. This is obviously a classic and a must read to understand Africa and how people's lives were affected by the entry of the english in their land.
Read this because of the world literature course I'm taking.
To be honest, comparatively, if we are talking about works like this, Things Fall Apart is much better than Wide Sargasso Sea, as its take on history and those African customs are much more detailed and understandable.
The main character is so dislikeable, yet, in some way, the book is captivating on behalf on his take to oppose the coercion into transforming the faith of the indigenous people into one of theirs. The violence of the non-civilized versus the so-called civilized actually bears no difference at all.
Fantastic fiction exploring African history before and after colonial times.
Super interesting, I wish I had read this with someone or maybe in a class. I'm sure most of it went over my head. I greatly appreciated the critique of missionary colonization
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