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Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe

(163)

| Paperback | 9780141023380

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Book Description

Introduction by K. Anthony Appiah

Critics

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

First published in 1958 – the year after Ghana became the first African nation to gain independence, as Britain, France and Belgium started to recognise the end of colonialism in Africa and began their unseemly withdrawal – Chinua Achebe's debut nove ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Fri, 24 Sep 2010

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart was published in 1958 and it has become a classic of world literature. It has sold over 8 million copies world wide and been translated into 45 languages. It is the story of Okonkwo, a proud Nigerian man, physically imposing and ren ... (read full critics)

bookgroup published on Mon, 13 Sep 2010

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8 Reviews

2 people find this helpful

*** This comment contains spoilers! ***

Someone not familiar with Nigeria (or the Ibo) may learn a few things. Not a masterpiece, though.

I have a fraternal twin brother, and he is alive. I studied sociology on a large campus where there were a few Nigerian students. I am embarrassed to say that I never heard about the practice of exposing twins as infants, until I read "Things Fall Apart". The book gives the impression that there is ... (continue)

I have a fraternal twin brother, and he is alive. I studied sociology on a large campus where there were a few Nigerian students. I am embarrassed to say that I never heard about the practice of exposing twins as infants, until I read "Things Fall Apart". The book gives the impression that there is even a high frequency of twin births. I wish I had access to some demographic data on this matter. (In August 2011, I see confirming data on the internet that Nigeria has a higher rate of twin births than most countries. Kodinhi, a village in Kerala, India, also has a very high rate of twin births.)<br />Perhaps part of the success of this novel was that it has been 'within the means' of many readers (it can be read without a great deal of investment of time). The 'economy' of the author may be accepted as a personal style. However, I feel that it is a weakness of the work that there is far too little attention paid to the psychologies, thoughts, and feelings of most of the characters in this novel. The protagonist, who remains the main focus, may be a tragic figure, but there is not much depth to him. I was hoping that the novel would include more from the perspectives of his sons, daughters, and wives --and neighbors, et. al.

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Philosopher said on Oct 13, 2008 | Add your feedback

I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting too. I'd wanted to read some books by African authors after we went to see the film Pumzi at the BL a few months back. I found this one in the library. It was MUCH more interesting than it sounded. The back cover basically told the story of 4/5ths o ... (continue)

I enjoyed this book much more than I was expecting too. I'd wanted to read some books by African authors after we went to see the film Pumzi at the BL a few months back. I found this one in the library. It was MUCH more interesting than it sounded. The back cover basically told the story of 4/5ths of the book in the summary paragraph (bad penguin). So instead of a book that looked just at the impact of colonisastion there was a lot of the village before the white people came. It was really interesting to read about the different culture and the people. I liked the religion and the magic, the approach to life. The guys who were just jerks and the intereactions between everyone. It was a harsh reality and there seemed to be quite a lot of child sacrifice. Despite being so short and covering so much time it gave an interesting glimpse at what life was like before and after the English came. Like the main character you were left wondering why there was not more protest. It seemed like colonisation happened when no one was looking or paying attention. Despite techinically having an MA in Asian and African history I feel like I know so little about Africa and should really change that.

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Robot-mel said on Oct 22, 2011 | Add your feedback

I found it a little entertaining, and liked the family descriptions. However, I couldn't find the reasons why it is so acclaimed.

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ariadna73 said on Mar 26, 2011 | Add your feedback

Palm seeds have more purposes here...

Journey into the wild outback in the late 1800s in Africa, this is the tale of custom, tradition, matrimony, human behavior and spirituality.
Set within the confines of a small tribe and their usual yearly customs of farming yams and drinking palm wine, the village is progressive community. Quare ... (continue)

Journey into the wild outback in the late 1800s in Africa, this is the tale of custom, tradition, matrimony, human behavior and spirituality.
Set within the confines of a small tribe and their usual yearly customs of farming yams and drinking palm wine, the village is progressive community. Quarells sprout here and there but the people are able to handle it.
But suddenly, a terrible drought hits the small village like a hurricane leaving feilds barren and people starving, and the same time strange pale beings wander into the land coming from the Forbidden forest. These strangers bring animals, symbols, books and other strange customs alien to the African nomadic tribe. The sudden drought and this beings strange presence wasn't a coincidence, they bring demons to harm them.
The story line is well put together, language poetic and flowing, the characters bright and entertaining.-JuanCarletto

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JuanCarletto said on Aug 18, 2010 | Add your feedback

Things Fall Apart

This is an interesting exploration on cultural differences, paying particular attention to the clash that occurs when two very different cultures try to occupy the same space.

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Readingrat said on Dec 11, 2008 | Add your feedback

Thank to my student Samuel for suggesting it: African literature was missing, and most of all Ibo!!!

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Pietro Regoliosi said on Mar 4, 2008 | Add your feedback