Chinua Achebe: Things Fall Apart

[beer good]

This book seems to be mentioned a lot, but doesn't have a thread of its own, so what the heck...

Anyway, I really liked this, occasionally exaggerated timeline-jumping notwithstanding. It comes across as equal parts ancient folk tale and modern psychological drama, set in the time when what is now Nigeria was colonized in the late 1800s. He manages the difficult task of having a not-too-sympathetic main character - Okonkwo is a violent, narrow-minded man who would rather do right by his traditions than by his heart, but still we empathize with him.

I was half-expecting this to be "we Africans were living in perfect harmony until the evil white man and massacred us", but it's very far from that. It's not so much about saying one side is completely right and one is completely wrong, but more of describing the effects of the much-bandied-about phrase "culture clash". Several of the Christian missionaries in the book come across as genuinely kind - if ignorant - people. At the same time Achebe is determined to kill the myth of "savage Africa"; the many details of daily life in the tribe serve up an image of a society which has a lot of faults - violence, superstition, generally a hard life - yet is in its way a well-ordered society with laws, traditions, friendships... And what kills it isn't gunpowder but the loss of hope; the last chapter is one of the most brutal sucker-punches I've read in some time.

Spoiler

It's hardly a coincidence that Okonkwo quite literally kills the messenger; even if he had gotten his tribesmen to fight with him, what good would it have done?

 

[unKeMPt]

Just started last night. It'll be a nice, quick read after The Wind-up Bird Chronicle, which I suppose was a rather fast-paced read for a 600-page hulk of a book.

 

[Kavitha]

I did like 'Things Fall Apart' very much, eventhough it was a part of my course syllabus during undergrad few years ago. But then, its so well written, that I decided to include the book in my collection.

 

[xuniekx]

question about things fall apart by chinua achebe....

What are the symbols throughout the novel and why they are important in building an understanding of the people and government?

 

[beer good]

One major theme is "doing one's own homework."

 

[saliotthomas]

What are the symbols throughout the novel and why they are important in building an understanding of the people and government?

Asked the teacher.
Dam if i read this f+++king book about far away tribes Xuniekx thought.
Google "things fall apart"achebe Xuniekx did.
Wise Beer good is.

Still i give you a few clues.Twins are bad luck,one should give them away to the sacred forest,Chistianity is powerfull magic,and if your father is a lazy drunk you might want to follow a different path.Enjoy.

 

[silverseason]

What are the symbols throughout the novel and why they are important in building an understanding of the people and government?

What are the symbols in your own life and why are they important in building an understanding of the people and government?

Compare.

 

[Max Cairnduff]

I thought this a tremendous novel, very powerful, particularly the final paragraph. As beer good says, it's not a simplistic work in which everyone is happy until the colonialists arrive, but it still manages to be scathing about the impact of those colonialists.

It's a subtle work, with a lot packed in relatively few pages, yet which still manages to be very readable.

 

[booktin]

I read this at uni - max is right, it's not a happy ever after type novel. It's got harsh truths and a harsher reality but it is so powerful...love the story of the turtle and the birds