“A true classic of world literature . . . A masterpiece that has inspired generations of writers in Nigeria, across Africa, and around the world.” —Barack Obama “African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe.” —Toni MorrisonNominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American ReadThings Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua … Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe’s critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa’s cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man’s futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order.
With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.
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A veritable classic, and important for understanding post-colonial reality in that part of the world.
Gives background of a culture that still has its roots in the people who currently live in Nigeria. If you want to understand a culture other than your own, one way is to read books that shed a historical light on the people. Chinua Achebe has written a simple book to show the world some basic tenets of the culture and values of his people.
Was hoping for more expansive history, but the story was awkward, trite and non-engaging.
This book portrays the effects of the slave trade on an African village. It’s a haunting tale of loss and change.
This is a literary classic and lives up to its reputation. I would recommend this to anyone. I believe it is required reading in many high schools.