Things Fall Apart

I recently finished Things Fall Apart, which was written in 1958 by Chinua Achebe, a Nigerian author and, allegedly one of the most famous if the not most famous published African writers. The reason I picked this book up is obvious. I wanted to get a little bit of background about Nigeria, not only its history but also a sense of its literary talents and this book did not disappoint. In fact I had never read a book by a real African writer, at least not that I can recall.

This book was a real pleasure to read despite its sad ending. It is very easy to read, with very simple prose but there is so much meaning in each phrase, each sentence. The book is about the Ibo tribe in Western Africa. The reader is introduced to the ways and customs of the Ibo tribe and you get to see both the simple and beautiful aspects and the horrible aspects, i.e., it's a society like any other. In some ways they are quite backward, but on the other hand, they are also very practical and pragmatic. The book centers around the life of Okonkwo, a fierce warrior in the tribe whose life is "dominated by fear and anger". He is strong and ambitious and fierce, but also proud, at times domineering and fearful of failure. In some respects, Okonkwo exhibits many of the finer qualities of the Ibo people but also their flaws.

The white colonists are introduced only towards the end of the book. I won't disclose too much else, but the ending is saddening and tragic. In fact this book has been compared to a Greek tragedy and I can easily understand why.

It's a great and fairly quick read but there is a lot to think about. I still marvel that Achebe was able to write such a powerful allegorical novel with sentences that are so simple. I will consider reading another book by Achebe in the future.