Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Things Fall Apart
Book Review: Things fall apart
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a beautiful book following a tribal member as he lives his life and tries to look after himself and his family. It is written extremely well and although the language is poetic and beautiful, I have to say it didn't move me or emotionally involve me in the story as much as I anticipated (hence the 4 stars). Never the less it is a perfectly pleasant read and kept me engrossed for a few days and the ending was perfectly in character and a fitting conclusion. You feel anger and shame at how African nations were treated by colonial powers and it is interesting to explore it from the Africans point of view rather than from a historical or political analysis angle. Overall a good read and worth the time it took to read.Book Review: Of Interest for Creating a Culture before Colonization
Summary: 3 Stars
This novel is set in the Igbo homeland in what is now southeastern Nigeria in the late 1800s/early 1900s. I read about three-quarters of the book before I could begin to appreciate it.
Up to then I'd disliked the main character, Okonkwo, an important person in the village whose major traits were harsh anger, pride and inflexibility, finding him one-sided and uninteresting. I felt the description was plodding and little of importance was happening, and wasn't greatly interested in the village life. Much of the novel was concerned mainly with his point of view, and his interactions with the other, relatively minor characters were unexciting. When a dramatic event occurred, such as an accidental shooting of a villager that led to exile, it was described in a flat, undramatic tone that seemed inappropriate and puzzled me.
I couldn't help comparing this novel unfavorably with another I happened to be reading, Palace Walk, by Naguib Mahfouz, with its complex, many-sided protagonist, the many other strongly developed people in his family, the dramatic interaction between them, and the rich world around them that was reasonably familiar.
It was only after reading some background material that I could begin to understand how Achebe's novel aimed to recreate a vibrant culture that had existed before colonization on its own terms, with its oral tradition, rituals and taboos, and guardian spirits, and show what had been lost. The focus on a period before colonization and the depiction of the whites as interlopers has been called innovative for its time. Likewise the use of language in the words of the villagers, instead of pidgin.
A scholar of African lit, Bernth Lindfors, has described the book like this: "Instead of representing Africa as a barbarous wilderness where savages lived in a permanent state of anarchy until the white man came bringing peace, law, order, religion, and a 'higher' form of civilization, Achebe showed how Africans led decent, moral lives in well-regulated societies that placed strict legal and religious constraints on human behavior. Indeed, according to Achebe, things did not fall apart in Africa until Europe intruded and set everything off balance by introducing alien codes which Africans were then told to live by. Europe did not bring light and peace . . . it brought chaos and confusion" (quoted from the preface to the Anchor Book of Modern African Short Stories).
At the same time, Achebe showed how some elements from outside the traditional culture, such as Christianity, weren't merely imposed from above but appealed strongly to some of the Igbo, especially those at the bottom of the society, and those who felt the new religion was more powerful. And he showed that the traditional society had its own internal problems and was ready for change. Achebe himself has been quoted as saying, "My sympathies were not entirely with Okonkwo . . . . Life just has to go on and if you refuse to accept changes, then, tragic though it may be, you are swept aside" (quoted from Under African Skies: Modern African Stories).
The conventional action came almost entirely in the last quarter of the novel, when the encroaching missionaries, together with the trading culture and the colonizers' threat of force, began to overwhelm the village. Although I can't say I identified with the main character even at the end, by then I could better appreciate the loss of the village culture.
Book Review: Historically significant but mediocre...
Summary: 2 Stars
This is, when all is said and done, not an especially good book. I understand (having read the blurb) that it has a significant place as the first major international success of an African author, writing about Africans with an authentic voice. But historical importance is not the same as merit - Logie Baird's first television was a moment of history, but you wouldn't want to swap your LCD flatscreen for it, would you?
This novel is short, and crisp, and gives an insight into the life, and demise, of a tribe in the African bush. Beyond this view of another culture, it has little to recommend it. Once I understood how the basic rules of the society worked, and then how the white men were taking over, the book had nothing left to give.
To give an idea, if you imagine this book written about a culture you already know, you would find it simplistic, almost childish, and shallow. The characters are feeble and rarely are they portrayed in any more than one dimension. There is no plot, really, and the confusion and anger of the tribe as their lives change, is not shown with sufficient emotional depth to gain your empathy.
Had I not been reading this for a book club, I would probably not have picked it up. And that wouldn't have been a great loss in my life. I'm sure there are great books written about the culture clashes in Africa and the arrogance of white domination, but this isn't one of them.
Book Review: Enthralling Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Native of Nigeria, Africa, Chinua Achebe wrote his own masterpiece fictional novel entitled "Things Fall Apart," which took place in his own country during the 19th century. Achebe has used his own background of an African village to create an interesting story that gives unique perspective of the African life and culture. The book is broken into three parts which describe the main character, Okonkwo, and the lifestyle in his village, the arrival of the missionaries and their actions toward the villagers, and the last year of Okonkwo's life.
The first part of "Things Fall Apart" expresses the lifestyle of the African culture in the village of Umuofia where the main character, Okonkwo, had lived. This first part consists of thirteen chapters that reveal the life in Umuofia, the wives and children of Okonkwo, the life and death of Ikemefuna, and the beginning of Okonkwo's exile. The second part of this book focuses on the life of the exile in Mbanta, the village of Okonkwo's mother. It consists of six chapters which reveal Okonkwo and his family living with his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta, the visits from Obierika, the arrival of the missionaries, the conversion of Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and the last year of Okonkwo's exile. The final part of the novel expresses the actions of the missionaries, the return of Okonkwo to Umuofia, and the death of Okonkwo. It consists of six chapters that reveal Okonkwo's attempts to urge the villagers to fight against the missionaries after his return, Mr. James' attempt to change the belief of the villagers, and a certain death of the villager.
There is great deal of symbolism and meanings being expressed from this unique novel, and it also expresses a fascinating perspective about African life and the impact of cultural imperialism.
The novel is quite enjoyable to read and gives one a food for thought.
Book Review: Have Not Been Able To Put It Down - For 20 Years
Summary: 5 Stars
Growing up, as I did in Nigeria, we read Chinua Achebe's books as part of our literature lessons in elementary and high schools. Even though I have read Things Fall Apart no less than 8 times in my life, I am still amazed by the ease with which Chinua Achebe conveys one simple message: the breakdown of his traditional Igbo society with European colonisation.
This message is deftly told through the life of Okonkwo. He was a "self-made" man in a village in pre-colonial (modern-day) Nigeria. The son of a poor, lazy but good-hearted farmer, Okonkwo rose to fame by defeating the wrestling champion, Amalinze the Cat, in a wrestling bout. Thereafter, he becomes a well-respected and influential member of the Village Council. A
Against his better judgment and that of his close friend, Obierika, he kills his adopted son, Ikemefuna as demanded by a blood-vendetta. Okonkwo's life takes a turn for the worse after he is exiled, returns and discovers that his world has changed: The white man has come to town. To add salt to the injury, his son has become a member of the white man's religion. Unable to adapt to the new order, he kills a man and then forced to commit suicide to evade capture. Being a suicide, his corpse is s buried outside the village, in the "evil forest". What an end to a once great man.
The beauty of this book, first published in 1959, is the simplicity of the language. There is no undue verbal contortions or verbosity. It is crisp, fresh, clear and powerful. This is one of my favourite books in the world. If you want first-class prose from, in my opinion, the greatest African English language writer on the face of the planet, then this is a book for you. I cannot recommend it highly enough.