Things Fall Apart

The low reviews of this book tend to be from people of European ancestry for OBVIOUS reasons, you'll notice in the review section. Some complain of "names were too hard to keep track of," while others complain of "tribal languages" making it difficult to understand. After all — shouldn't an African writer use European names in his book for the limited minded Euro person? — they think to their entitled selves. In this novel European supremacy is thoroughly questioned, and overall the book makes the strong argument that Africans would have been 100% better off had Europeans never stepped foot in Africa. This claim is obviously true to people not of European ancestry, and can be seen in the Americas as well. The reader of this book that is of European ancestry finds this difficult to admit because everything Europeans have comes from the theft and the greatest crimes against humanity in the history of the world (committed by Europeans in Africa and the Americas), often in the name of a God that has commanded them "Thou shalt not kill," "thou shalt not steal," and "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

Wild and completely unsupported claims are also made in the low ratings of this book. They say "This book has no plot!" And "snooze fest." Or "my kid had to read it for class and hated it. She's an honor student so I know."

There are no quotes given, nor analysis of literary criticism applied, nor simple analysis of plot, nor a mention of this book being the first of a trilogy, nor noting that Achebe thoroughly critiques Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" in an essay and with this book, etc. from the reviewers who rate this book as a 1 star or 2 star rating. That is because they have not bothered to try to understand the book, and they have not bothered because Achebe is African, "black", pointing out Christian hypocrisy, illustrating the crime that is colonialism, and questioning the White Supremacy that is the God and religion that all Europeans in the world have pledged their faith to.

"Things Fall Apart" is a five star book. It is literature because it is part of "The Great Conversation" that is the backbone of the literary canon. It is the first book of three in Achebe's trilogy. What you won't like about it if you are of European ancestry is that It is not pro white sumpremacy. It does not pretend Christians are not hyporcrites. It does not pretend that Africa is better off because a bunch of European sociopaths decided to steal land and resources from Africans, as well as use Africans in human trafficking. Chinua Achebe is not the type of African or black person people of European ancestry want an African or black person to be. So if you want to rate the book low, please write its because you are a white supremacist, and not because of lack of literary value. Because this book is invaluable literature.

This is not so much a review of the book as it is a brief commentary of its personal and broader relevance. As a Nigerian-American, I can honestly say that Things Fall Apart is one of the most important books I've ever read. I read it in secondary school in Nigeria 30 years ago and most of it was lost on me because we were forced to read, memorize, and regurgitate its contents to pass exams. We did not have much have a chance to extract and discuss the WEALTH of knowledge that Chinua Achebe unfurls in this book.

Fast-forward to last week in the US when something kept telling me to order another copy (I've lived in a few countries, including Nigeria, and always feel compelled to buy this book anywhere I live but never find time to read it). So, I ordered yet another hard copy and then saw Amazon's Kindle deal while the first copy was in transit in the post. It was a no-brainer -- the Kindle version would solve my traveling woes! Moreover, I devoured it in 3 days! Then I discussed certain passages with my parents whose grandparents would have been Okonkwo's peers and this precipitated priceless family discussions, taking my parents back to their respective childhoods.

Having been born in the US, I can count the number of times that we've tried to have similar discussions that ended up falling flat. I believe my re-reading of Achebe's book, plus my mother's grand decision to transplant me from the US and enroll me in a Nigerian secondary school decades ago, FINALLY helped us share and construct parts of our family's historical story's center that had never really had the chance to come together -- not to talk of fall apart.

The novel also elicited compassion from me that gets buried (far) beneath the frustration at present-day Nigeria, which I've recently lived in and visit often. In Things Fall Apart, Achebe describes this functional society -- sure, without the technological advances of iron horses and Western education -- but functional enough to maintain law and order, as well as family and community (kinship) structures. My parents say that they remember some of those days and now I understand the heartbreak and ambivalence they must feel when they look at Nigeria today.

I also finished the book with more compassion towards pre-colonial worshippers of traditional or cultural gods. Achebe cleverly shows that it wasn't much different from Christianity other than the multiplicity of mediator gods and the exclusion of certain groups and the sad, unfortunate mistreatment of twins. (My parents have a family friend who was an only child because his mother had given birth to FOUR sets of twins -- all of whom were you-know-what). As a Christian, I can easily rattle off the vast differences but sometimes it's helpful to look at similarities, so you can understand where people are coming from and why they see things the way they do, and therefore do the things they do. The Igbos were just one ethnic groups in Nigeria that had to make decisions and adjustments to literally abandon who they were. Never mind how many other groups had to do the same across the entire country and continent!

Finally, I was struck by how certain elements of this 60 year-old novel foreshadows aspects of present-day Nigeria. In particular, the part about the colonial government messengers and 250 cowries had me howling out loud! Obviously, I don't want to give it away, so please feel free to share your thoughts on this aspect after you've read the book!

While I understand Chimamanda Adichie's warning not to heed to the narrative of a single story, Things Fall Apart is one story that I am proud to say represents an aspect of my heritage superbly. Achebe should have won the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature because of the understanding Things Fall Apart presumably fostered between colonized peoples and their colonizers, between colonized people in general, and between people around the world in a much broader sense -- and still does.

In short: I simply adore this book and hope you do, too!

“Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe is a captivating exploration of tradition, change, and colonialism in pre-colonial Nigeria. Through the compelling character of Okonkwo, Achebe delves into themes of identity and masculinity, inviting readers to reflect on their own beliefs. Achebe’s elegant prose and vivid portrayal of Igbo culture transport readers to a richly detailed world. This timeless classic challenges readers to confront uncomfortable truths and reconsider their perspectives on African societies. A must-read for anyone seeking profound insights into the human experience.

I didn't give this book a chance when it was assigned to me in college but with positive reviews from so many of my classmates, I decided to go back and give it a try...I am glad that I did. It's become an excellent ice-breaker with my Nigerian friends and I think it provides great course material for both highschool and college classes. The cultural barriers and conflicts that we see all the time across the world are studied by following the simple and tragic story of the main character and his village. Unlike others that approach the subject, I think that the author did a great job of staying relatively neutral as I didn't feel like there was any finger pointing or exaggerated accusations.

The book read slower in the beginning but I think it became very exciting towards the end.

Wikipedia's take on the significance of the book was helpful to me when I decided to purchase it on my kindle. Thus, this is what that source has to say: Things Fall Apart is a milestone in African literature. It has come to be seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English,[2][5] and is read in Nigeria and throughout Africa. Of all of Achebe's works, Things Fall Apart is the one read most often, and has generated the most critical response, examination, and literary criticism. It is studied widely in Europe and North America, where it has spawned numerous secondary and tertiary analytical works. It has achieved similar status and repute in India, Australia and Oceania.[2] Considered Achebe's magnum opus, it has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide.[28] Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.[29] The novel has been translated into more than fifty languages, and is often used in literature, world history, and African studies courses across the world.

Achebe is now considered to be the essential novelist on African identity, nationalism, and decolonization. Achebe's main focus has been cultural ambiguity and contestation. The complexity of novels such as Things Fall Apart depends on Achebe's ability to bring competing cultural systems and their languages to the same level of representation, dialogue, and contestation.[5]

Reviewers have praised Achebe's neutral narration and have described Things Fall Apart as a realistic novel. Much of the critical discussion about Things Fall Apart concentrates on the socio-political aspects of the novel, including the friction between the members of Igbo society as confront the intrusive and overpowering presence of Western government and beliefs. Ernest N. Emenyonu commented that "Things Fall Apart is indeed a classic study of cross-cultural misunderstanding and the consequences to the rest of humanity, when a belligerent culture or civilization, out of sheer arrogance and ethnocentrism, takes it upon itself to invade another culture, another civilization."[30]

Achebe's writing about African society, in telling from an African point of view the story of the colonization of the Igbo, tends to extinguish the misconception that African culture had been savage and primitive. In Things Fall Apart, western culture is portrayed as being "arrogant and ethnocentric," insisting that the African culture needed a leader. As it had no kings or chiefs, Umofian culture was vulnerable to invasion by western civilization. It is felt that the repression of the Igbo language at the end of the novel contributes greatly to the destruction of the culture. Although Achebe favors the African culture of the pre-western society, the author attributes its destruction to the "weaknesses within the native structure." Achebe portrays the culture as having a religion, a government, a system of money, and an artistic tradition, as well as a judicial system.