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ყველაფერი ნაცარტუტად იქცევა ბოლოს

(The African Trilogy #1)

Chinua Achebe,

Gvantsa Jobava (Translator)

3.65 · Rating details · 256,462 ratings · 12,375 reviews

„ყველაფერი ნაცარტუტად იქცევა ბოლოს“ ეპოქალური ნიგერიელი მწერლის, ჩინუა აჩებეს მიერ ინგლისურ ენაზე შექმნილი უმნიშვნელოვანესი რომანია, რომელსაც მთელ მსოფლიოში დიდი აღიარება ხვდა წილად. ეს ნაწარმოები დღემდე აუცილებელ სასწავლო ტექსტადაა მიჩნეული როგორც აფრიკის კონტინენტის, ისე ინგლისურენოვანი ქვეყნების სკოლებსა და უნივერსიტეტებში. წიგნი თარგმნილია ორმოცდაჩვიდმეტ ენაზე და ამ დრ „ყველაფერი ნაცარტუტად იქცევა ბოლოს“ ეპოქალური ნიგერიელი მწერლის, ჩინუა აჩებეს მიერ ინგლისურ ენაზე შექმნილი უმნიშვნელოვანესი რომანია, რომელსაც მთელ მსოფლიოში დიდი აღიარება ხვდა წილად. ეს ნაწარმოები დღემდე აუცილებელ სასწავლო ტექსტადაა მიჩნეული როგორც აფრიკის კონტინენტის, ისე ინგლისურენოვანი ქვეყნების სკოლებსა და უნივერსიტეტებში. წიგნი თარგმნილია ორმოცდაჩვიდმეტ ენაზე და ამ დრომდე გაყიდულია ოც მილიონზე მეტი ეგზემპლარი.

რომანში პირუთვნელად, შეულამაზებლადაა აღწერილი ნიგერიული ტომის ცხოვრება მე-19 საუკუნის მიწურულს, კოლონიზაციამდე, და მას შემდეგ, რაც პირველმა ევროპელებმა ამ მხარეში დადგეს ფეხი. წიგნი, რომელიც პირველად 1958 წელს გამოქვეყნდა – ორი წლით ადრე, ვიდრე ნიგერია დიდი ბრიტანეთისგან დამოუკიდებლობას გამოაცხადებდა – სრულადაა დაცლილი კოლონიამდელი ეპოქის გაიდიალებისგან და გვიხატავს სამყაროს, რომლისთვისაც ძალადობა, ომი და გაჭირვება უცხო არ არის, თუმცა ამასთან, გაჯერებულია ტრადიციების, რიტუალების, რწმენა-წარმოდგენებისა და სოციალური ურთიერთგაგების ძლიერი განცდით. რომანში აღწერილია ერთი ადამიანის, იბოს ტომის წარჩინებული, ძლევამოსილი და უშიშარი მებრძოლის – ოკონკვოს ქარიშხლიანი, ტრაგიკული ცხოვრება და ბრძოლა იბოს ტომის ტრადიციების გაუფასურებათა ყოველი მცდელობის წინააღმდეგ – მათ შორის გაორებულ თანატომელთა წინააღმდეგაც.

„ყველაფერი ნაცარტუტად იქცევა ბოლოს“ კოლონიზაციის პროცესის მუქი საღებავებით დახატვის გამო მალაიზიისა და ნიგერიის მთავრობებმა აკრძალეს. მართალია, აშშ-ში წიგნი ოფიციალურად არასდროს აკრძალულა, თუმცა 2012 წელს გასაჩივრდა წიგნში შესული რასისტული ელემენტების გამო. ...more

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Paperback, 229 pages

Published December 19th 2018 by ინტელექტი (first published 1959)

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ამ რომანში ყველა კვდება by Beka Adamashvili

რა წავიკითხეთ ქართველებმა 2019-ში

298 books — 14 voters

მაიკლ კეის ცხოვრება და დროება by J.M. Coetzee

ნათარგმნი ლიტერატურა - აფრიკელი ავტორები ქართულად

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Jan 21, 2014 Rowena rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: african-lit

“The drums were still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulsation of its heart. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees, and filled the village with excitement.” - Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

This is a book of many contrasts; colonialism and traditional culture, animism and Christianity, the masculine and the feminine, and the ignorant and the aware (although who is who depends on who “The drums were still beating, persistent and unchanging. Their sound was no longer a separate thing from the living village. It was like the pulsation of its heart. It throbbed in the air, in the sunshine, and even in the trees, and filled the village with excitement.” - Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

This is a book of many contrasts; colonialism and traditional culture, animism and Christianity, the masculine and the feminine, and the ignorant and the aware (although who is who depends on who’s speaking).

Okonkwo is one of the most intriguing characters in African fiction. He epitomizes so much I dislike; he’s abusive, misogynist, has very little patience or tolerance for the weak, and is perhaps he’s even over-ambitious. Despite all his faults, it’s impossible not to pity him a little because, after all, the life he knows, the life of his ancestors, is being taken from him quite cruelly by the British settlers.

This book really takes the reader into the Igbo culture. Achebe shows the traditional culture very well, a culture which is rife with superstition but rich in context. I loved the inclusion of the African proverbs and folk tales, and the details of the Igbo clan system. Achebe also shows how tightknit precolonial African culture was and how, despite not having the so-called civilized institutions, things went pretty smoothly because of the community spirit and also the societal rules. The importance of ancestors in society is a part of this:

“The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. There was coming and going between them.”

Achebe managed to inject some humour into such bleak subject matter, although I think this feat is quite common among African writers:

”You grew your ears for decoration, not for hearing.”

What I found difficult to come to terms with, as an African Christian myself, is the horrific way Christianity was introduced to the African continent. However, despite the lack of respect the colonialists showed to the people, it’s hard to deny that there were some aspects of African tradition that were outdated and people had the option of leaving such tradition behind, especially if it was harmful. For example, in this book the outcasts and the parents of twin babies (who had to kill their babies to prevent evil from entering the village) obviously found it easier to abandon tradition.

I think this book was the first one that made me realize the terrible impact of colonialism. I’ve always been curious about how Chinese women with bound feet must have felt after that fashion was seen as barbaric and unfashionable, and in the same vein I’ve also wondered about how those in African cultures who had lots of power and were accorded lots of respect might have felt when new values undermined everything they had worked towards.

This book reminds me a lot of Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s “The River Between” which focuses on similar subject matter, albeit on the other side of the continent (Kenya). I would highly recommend both of them. ...more

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Dec 24, 2007 Skylar Burris rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review is now on my blog: https://www.skylarb.com/single-post/2...

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Jun 25, 2014 Lisa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, favorites, so-good-it-hurts, unforgettable

My son and I had a long talk about this novel the other day, after he finished reading it for an English class.

Over the course of the study unit, we had been talking about Chinua Achebe's fabulous juxtaposition of different layers of society, both within Okonkwo's tribe, and within the colonialist community. We had been reflecting on aspects of the tribe that we found hard to understand, being foreign and against certain human rights we take for granted, most notably parts of the strict hierarc ...more

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Feb 24, 2016 Sean Barrs the Bookdragon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-lit, postcolonial, 4-star-reads

Achebe’s protagonist isn’t a very nice man. In reality he is an asshole. I don’t like him. I don’t think anyone really does. He is ruthless and unsympathetic to his fellow man. He grew up in a warrior’s culture; the only way to be successful was to be completely uncompromising and remorseless. His father was weak and worthless, according to him, so he approached life with an unshakable will to conquer it with his overbearing masculinity.

”When Unoka died he had taken no title at all and he was h ...more

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Jun 06, 2019 Jim Fonseca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: african-authors, nigeria, anthropology

Written in 1958, this is the classic African novel about how colonialism impacted and undermined traditional African culture. It’s set among the Igbo people of Nigeria (aka Ibos). A key phrase is found late in the book: “He [the white man] has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” Wiki calls the book the most widely read book in modern African literature.

The main character is a strong man, the village wrestling champion. He has three wives and many children, ...more

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Jun 22, 2019 Alok Mishra rated it really liked it · review of another edition

How to attempt a balanced review of Things Fall Apart:

1. The book is serious. Themes and issues dealt in the book are far more serious than many other books written by the contemporary authors of Achebe.

2. The colonial abstract takes an altogether different turn as Achebe explores that colonisers not only colonised the land and properties but also the minds and hearts of the native people.

3. Racism has been dealt very aptly and also religious hypocrisy - different churches for the people who ...more

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Jun 05, 2007 J.G. Keely rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, novel, africa, reviewed

The act of writing is strangely powerful, almost magical: to take ideas and put them into a lasting, physical form that can persist outside of the mind. For a culture without a written tradition, a libraries are not great structures of stone full of objects--instead, stories are curated within flesh, locked up in a cage of bone. To know the story, you must go to the storyteller. In order for that story to persist through time, it must be retold and rememorized by successive generations.

A book, s ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Henry Avila rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Okonkwo achieved success at an early age .. 18, the wrestling champ of his tribe the Ibo in colonial Nigeria, fame did not bring riches the hard work on his farm accomplished that . His lazy flute playing father Unoka embarrasses him, neglects his wives and children (the son Okonkwo determines never to be poor) dying with a vast amount of debts . He on the other hand becomes an important
man in the village marries three women, having numerous children, however times are changing a new religion Okonkwo achieved success at an early age .. 18, the wrestling champ of his tribe the Ibo in colonial Nigeria, fame did not bring riches the hard work on his farm accomplished that . His lazy flute playing father Unoka embarrasses him, neglects his wives and children (the son Okonkwo determines never to be poor) dying with a vast amount of debts . He on the other hand becomes an important
man in the village marries three women, having numerous children, however times are changing a new religion arrives, the old gods and customs are slowly vanishing like a poof of smoke on a windy day. Still many resist, trouble brews as if a pot of hot coffee, led by Okonkwo...why can't things stay the same? The fierce warrior has killed many in the tribal wars , they have to be respected or their rivals will be punished severely, the pride of the Ibo must be maintained . A quite unfortunate occurrence an accident causes the unbeaten rambunctious thoroughly unafraid former wrestling
champ to flee his native village exiled for seven years to his mother's home, the disaster humiliated his whole family he has to begin again with his children and wives. Years pass not very fast yet finally back goes Okonkwo , nevertheless the clock doesn't stand still, the atmosphere flows with a strange current... However the missionaries build a church on an evil spot in the village where the spirits of the cursed thrive , an infestation is known to the frightened people even so the Christians aren't. Converts begin to flock to the building in Umuofia , a Mr. Brown the head missionary a white man a gentle soul gets many new members even Nwoye , Okonkwo's troubled son, a weak person with little ambition this shames the great man. If only he thinks his favorite child the dynamic, always faithful and beautiful
daughter, clever Ezinma was male everything would be different nature is not fair, she is such a facsimile. Strife is about to commence and death as inevitable as rain follows, but what will the British soldiers do their harsh rule is well known and the survivors will learn for a while at least. The most popular book in modern Africa selling over twenty million copies and I see the reasons, it tells the story of the continent's warts and all, the good the bad, the history. This is better than a history book for the facts are dry but the human experiences are not, blood is messy... ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 Barry Pierce rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2014, 20th-century

Y'know when you read a novel that is just so stark and bare and depraved that you know it's going to stay with you for a very long time? Yep, it's happened guys. It's happened. This novel ruined me. Ugh it's so great and so horrible. It's what Yeats would describe as a "terrible beauty". Read it, let it wreck you, and bathe in its importance.

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Oct 05, 2008 Will Byrnes rated it really liked it · review of another edition

In this classic tale Okonkwo is a strong man in his village, and in his region of nine villages. At age 18 he beat the reigning wrestling champion and has been an industrious worker all his life, a reaction to his lazy, drunkard father. He lives his life within the cultural confines of his limited world, following the laws that govern his society, accepting the religious faith of his surroundings, acting on both, even when those actions would seem, to us in the modern west, an abomination. While In this classic tale Okonkwo is a strong man in his village, and in his region of nine villages. At age 18 he beat the reigning wrestling champion and has been an industrious worker all his life, a reaction to his lazy, drunkard father. He lives his life within the cultural confines of his limited world, following the laws that govern his society, accepting the religious faith of his surroundings, acting on both, even when those actions would seem, to us in the modern west, an abomination. While he may succeed and fail within the confines of his society’s laws, what he cannot do is adapt himself to the world when it goes through a dramatic transformation. In this case, his home town is revolutionized when white missionaries set up a base and bring along with them the firepower of western weapons. Unable to cope, unable to channel his justifiable rage into constructive actions, he is led inexorably to his doom.

description

Chinua Achebe - from the Salon article noted below

What is this book about? It is a simple tale. The details of Okonkwo’s experiences accumulate to give us a picture of his times, his culture, so we have a sense of what is at stake when change arrives. Is this a warning to us of our own inability to see beyond the confines of our culture? How will we cope with change when it comes, in whatever form?

I found it difficult keeping track of the characters. This is a case in which a diagram of a family tree would probably come in handy. Yet, ultimately, this is not so important. What matters is that we get a sense of Okonkowo‘s world. And the impact of the West arriving in an African society. This book is considered a classic,and for good reason.

=============================EXTRA STUFF

There is a wonderful video of John Green talking about the book. Must-see. In fact you could do worse than skipping the above review entirely and checking out Green's vid. And there is a second episode of his vid on the book as well. Have at it.

In 2013, Salon republished a wonderful 2010 essay, Chinua Achebe: The man who rediscovered Africa, on news of his passing.

...more

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Jan 19, 2017 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I 'finally' read this book - the 50th Anniversary Edition- THANK YOU for the book Loretta!!! I'm sorry it took me so long to read it!!!!
Interesting timing for me, too, having just read "NW" by Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie- and a couple of
James Baldwin books recently---plus, yesterday was Martin Luther King's day.
African identity, nationalism, decolonization, racism, sexism, competing cultural systems, languages -and dialogue, social political issues have been in my space!!

I didn't kn ...more

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Apr 30, 2012 M.L. Rudolph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

1959. Love it or hate it, Achebe's tale of a flawed tribal patriarch is a powerful and important contribution to twentieth century literature.

Think back to 1959. Liberation from colonial masters had not yet swept the African continent when this book appeared, but the pressures were building. The US civil rights movement had not yet erupted, but the forces were in motion. Communism and capitalism were fighting a pitched battle for control of hearts and minds, for bodies and land, around the world ...more

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Jun 30, 2013 Paul rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: african-novels

A real tour de force; but a plain tale simply told. Achebe illustrates and explains rather than judges and provides a moving and very human story of change and disintegration. Set in Nigeria in the nineteenth century it tells the story of Okonkwo and his family and community. He is a man tied to his culture and tradition and fighting to be different to his father. He is strong and proud and unable to show his feelings. His courage and rashness get him into trouble with his community and traditio ...more

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Feb 21, 2015 Matthew rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: required-reading-high-school, historical-fiction, library, read-more-than-once, 2017, classic, completist-book-club

4 Stars from what I remembered from reading this in high school
3 Stars from rereading it now

This book is a classic that is on a lot of required reading lists. I can understand that as it gives a fictional glimpse into the Westernization of Africa. A topic like this is very heavy, controversial, and important – because of this, a tale in this genre is going to have a big impact and will easily make its way to must read status.

When I read it in high school, I think I enjoyed it more than now becau ...more

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Jun 24, 2014 Duane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-book-challenge, rated-books, reviewed-books, africa, guardian-1000, historical-fiction

Maybe the best thing about Achebe's, Things Fall Apart, is that it give us a look at African culture from the inside, from their perspective, how they viewed the world around them and their place in it. Most of the African novels I've read give the outside view, the colonial or Christian view, which unfairly judges a people and a culture they couldn't possibly understand.

The story is set in the Nigerian village of Umuofia in the late 1800's. Since their culture is based on history and tradition, ...more

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Sep 20, 2016 Michael Finocchiaro rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: african-lit, fiction, nigerian-20th-c, novels

Achebe's classic is a quick and interesting read albeit with a depressingly realistic end. My curiosity will most likely lead me to more of his work and I enjoyed the narrative style. The ambiguities of cultural clash with an obvious misbalance of power and the two different kinda of brutality in the conflict were thought-provoking and painful to read because they were surely even worse in real life.

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Sep 05, 2016 Whitney Atkinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2016, for-class

I really enjoyed this book! It was the first book we read in my contemporary world literature class and it stirred some really good discussion. I'm all about any conversation in which I can discuss dismantling the patriarchy, and this book definitely dealt a lot with sexism, which is a topic I find infuriating yet interesting. The writing style was simple and quick to read, and although there wasn't an abundance of imagery, some of the similes/comparisons were really pretty! I thought this was a ...more

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Apr 01, 2017 Frona rated it liked it · review of another edition

I wondered for a while why this book felt more like a fieldwork than a guided mind tour, but the answer is obvious. It lays in the fact that the novel has little of that character building I'm used from reading mainly Western literature. The surroundings are not put in the background to serve only as a reflection of one's thought process, but form an organism of its own. Here, in the middle of an African village on the verge of white people's arrival, the rhythm of living is dictated by weather, ...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Ahmad Sharabiani rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-book, fiction, historical, african, literature, 20th-century

472. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, its story chronicles the pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It was 472. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe
Things Fall Apart is a novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Published in 1958, its story chronicles the pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It was first published by William Heinemann Ltd in the UK; in 1962, it was also the first work published in Heinemann's African Writers Series. The title of the novel was borrowed from W. B. Yeats' 1919 poem "The Second Coming".
عنوانها: همه چیز فرو می‌پاشد؛ همه چیز فرو می‌ریزد؛ همه چیز از هم می‌پاشد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ (جوانه رشد، سروش، آستان قدس رضوی) ادبیات افریقا؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بیست و چهارم ماه اکتبر سال 2012 میلادی
عنوان: همه چیز فرو می‌پاشد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ مترجم: فرهاد منشوری؛ مشهد، آستان قدس؛ 1368؛ در 232 ص؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان افریقایی انگلیسی - سده 20 م
عنوان: همه چیز فرو می‌ریزد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ مترجم: گلریز صفویان؛ تهران، سروش؛ 1377؛ در 240 ص؛ چاپ دوم 1388؛ شابک: 9789643767419؛
عنوان: همه چیز از هم می‌پاشد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ مترجم: علی هداوند؛ تهران، نیکا؛ 1391؛ در 224 ص؛ شابک: 9786009092024؛
عنوان: همه چیز فرو می‌پاشد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ مترجم: علی اصغر بهرامی؛ تهران، جوانه رشد، 1380؛ در 231 ص؛ شابک: 9646115012؛
عنوان: همه چیز فرو می‌پاشد؛ نویسنده: چینوا آچیه؛ مترجم: کامروا ابراهیمی؛ تهران، افراز، 1390، در 208 ص؛ شابک: 9789642435906؛
داستان در شرق نیجریه رخ میدهد، پیچیدگی های جامعه ای سنتی پیش از اشغال است توسط مسیونرها، نویسنده تراژدی قهرمان داستانش «اوکنک وو» و هم جامعه را باز مینماید. ا. شربیانی ...more

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Apr 23, 2010 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: novels, historical-fiction, popular-fiction, ebooks, literary-fiction, fiction, 2012-around-the-world, classics, before-i-die

I found this a smooth, good read. Absorbing, well-paced, engrossing and not at all long--novella length. Sad to say, I don't as a rule expect good reads in those books upheld as modern classics, but this pulled me in. Someone who saw me reading it told me they found the style "Romper Room" and some reviews seem to echo that. I didn't feel that way. I'd call the style "spare"--which befits a writer who when asked which writers he admired and who influenced him named Hemingway along with Conrad an I found this a smooth, good read. Absorbing, well-paced, engrossing and not at all long--novella length. Sad to say, I don't as a rule expect good reads in those books upheld as modern classics, but this pulled me in. Someone who saw me reading it told me they found the style "Romper Room" and some reviews seem to echo that. I didn't feel that way. I'd call the style "spare"--which befits a writer who when asked which writers he admired and who influenced him named Hemingway along with Conrad and Graham Greene. And I loved how Achebe wove in folk tales and sayings and Ibo customs into the narrative. Things Fall Apart is considered a classic in African literature, and according to the introduction, Achebe wrote it to rehabilitate and counter what he called "the tarnished image of Africa," to give human dimension to the colonized.

The first part gives us a nuanced and detailed picture of life in a pre-colonial Ibo village during the late Victorian era. To Achebe's credit, he doesn't present that life as idyllic and his central character, Okonkwu, who embodies the tribal values, is deeply flawed. Okonkwu equates manliness with violence, and has used violence on his own family. In an interview after the text, Achebe said his "sympathies were not entirely with Okonkwu." Achebe presents the ills that the colonists brought to the traditional village society--the division between families, the imposition of foreign rule, the corruption and brutality endemic in the system which even destroys an entire village in reprisal for the death of one white missionary.

But Achebe also depicts what attracted people to the Christian missionaries beyond the schools and the hospitals, the trade. Among the first and most fervent converts are Oknokwu's own son Nwoye, bitter that his father killed his childhood friend who had tried to flee his fate as a human sacrifice, a pregnant woman who had lost several children because of the practice of twin infanticide, and two people from a taboo caste who find their first respect and equal treatment among the Christians. Frankly--and I know this is as un-PC as un-PC can be--but given Achebe's depiction of the brutal, superstitious, misogynist tribal culture, I was finding it very hard to see its destruction as tragic. Although, given all the different iterations I've seen and read of the "Dances With Wolves" motif, I did appreciate Achebe's willingness to show the unattractive side of a traditional culture.

At the same time Oknokwu's friend Obierika says "the white man... has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart." And just as Oknokwu upheld that old center, when it falls apart he does too. And whatever ambivalence I might have felt for his fate and the values he stood for, few contemporary readers can read that last paragraph from the point of view of the white colonizing District Commissioner without disquiet or miss Achebe's sharp and bitter irony. ...more

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Aug 22, 2011 Darwin8u rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-ante-mortem, 2012

“There is no story that is not true.”
― Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

description

Achebe's Magnum Opus is one of those 'essential novels' where one can see its greatness while at the same moment understand that part of its strength lies not in anything the novel itself ever does, but in the place the novel holds in time and place. If 'Things Fall Apart' were written 40 years earlier it would have probably been ignored both in Africa and the West.

If it had been written 40 years later, it would have been s ...more

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Sep 01, 2011 Praj rated it liked it · review of another edition

I had said earlier in one of my former reviews, about how if a certain character is not overwhelmed by the plot-theme of a script and stands out on its own potency becoming more memorable than the story itself, the book is worth applauding and so is the author for its creation. When one reads Things Fall Apart, amongst its vast documentary of Igbo culture of the southeastern part of Nigeria; a man named Okonkwo shines not for his tragic fate but for the man he turned out to be due to his wither I had said earlier in one of my former reviews, about how if a certain character is not overwhelmed by the plot-theme of a script and stands out on its own potency becoming more memorable than the story itself, the book is worth applauding and so is the author for its creation. When one reads Things Fall Apart, amongst its vast documentary of Igbo culture of the southeastern part of Nigeria; a man named Okonkwo shines not for his tragic fate but for the man he turned out to be due to his withering circumstances. He was conceited, stubborn, ill-tempered, and ruthless, yet he took pride in the customary and social hierarchies of the powerful clan of Umuofia. He feared failure; a psychological diffidence nurtured through his father’s shortcomings. Okonkwo strived with hardcore determination to be the leader of the clan. He robustly stood tall like a tree , faced every crisis that came his way with obstinate wit, but sadly overlooked his own limitations and never learned to bend or turn like the grass to the changing winds and finally succumbed to the gust of harshness. My heart goes out to men like Okonkwo, whose personality represents numerous other men from various patriarchal societies; like my own for instance. Staunch patriarchs rarely accept changes for they have been rooted in their ancestral cultural mores and dread its disintegration with time. Okonkwo’s father died when he was young burdened with debt and mortification. Hence, he feared his own collapse and saw accomplishment and power as a sign of acceptance and dignity amongst the members of the clan. Okonkwo was the uncrowned prince of masculinity. As a patriarch he believed the molding of a true man was carved through use of brutal force and authoritarian services. Any vulnerability was a sign of effeminate demeanor and a shame to his manhood. It has always been a classic case of "my way or the highway" when dealing with the head of a certain family structure. The father or the grandfather whoever occupied the supreme position tends to be engulfed in his own obsessive hubris failing to show necessary restraint; ripping away the family piece by piece. It was no surprise when Okonkwo’s son Nwoye despised his father’s preaching and turned to Christianity for a serene existence. I have no sympathies for Okonkwo’s tragic ending for I strongly felt he deserved every bit of the death that came his way. I know I got a bit carried away with this character, but I saw shades of his personality that hit closer to home. A man who cannot change with time is a friendless traveler.

When my anger receded, after a while, questions arise as to whether it is easy for a human being who is deeply embedded in a certain way of life to accept drastic change at the risk of losing a critical part of his existence- his cultural identification? When I compare myself with past generations I wonder if my children will ever remember or follow the sediments of my ancestral culture that has barely found a way in my lifestyle. Colonization brings westernization; the advent of the “white” man on exotic foreign shores brings a modernists wave that practically wipes out the primary ethnicities of the land. Democratic amendments bring liberation banishing orthodoxy and atrocious superstitions. It is a definite wondrous prospect, I must say; nevertheless, it gradually washes away the crucial hierarchical cultural institutions terming it as a blot of vernacularism. I embraced westernization as a child through my schooling years, but my father still finds some of the libertine values humbug. It is then, I reflect on Okonkwo and his failure to accept the presence of British missionaries in his village and his belief in the calamitous penalties by the spread of Christianity.

Achebe brings a complex mix of digression and misfortune that revolves around one man, his fate and the collapse within his tribal ethnicity. The anthropological image of the Igbo people and their civilization in the late 19th century, exhibits a democratic opulence of the Igbo people ingrained in tribal origins of African literature. Themes of religious convictions in the mysterious aura of the village Oracle, the hypocrisy and miscarriage in the justice structure during colonization and the commanding anxiety of free will are well meshed in depicting the Igbo world. Tribes and cultures either disintegrating or amalgamating into Western civilization bring an end to a strong ethnic era that once thrived and later waits patiently for its revival through generations. Languages and customs disappear with colonization making the world a uniformed global dais with treasures of ancient cultures hidden amongst its dark interiors. One man’s treasure is another man’s trash; tribal practices although termed as an archaic form of savagery, were valued institutions of traditions and justice to a few. Although, Chinua Achebe’s book tries to echo the related attitude, somehow it seems depressing and vacant at the closing stages of the book.
...more

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Sep 15, 2008 booklady rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommended to booklady by: Skylar

Shelves: 2008, adventure, literature, fiction, historical-fiction, worth-reading-over-and-over, classic

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” is from Yeats's poem "The Second Coming". Fifty years after Chinua Achebe wrote this deceptively simple Nigerian tragedy, Things Fall Apart has never been out of print. It's hailed as Africa's best known work of literature and I can easily see why.

At the heart of the story is a strong man, Okonkwo, with an overwhelming need to prove himself--to himself and his tribe; he must overcome the bad reputation of his drunkard ne'er-do-well father. Although Oko "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” is from Yeats's poem "The Second Coming". Fifty years after Chinua Achebe wrote this deceptively simple Nigerian tragedy, Things Fall Apart has never been out of print. It's hailed as Africa's best known work of literature and I can easily see why.

At the heart of the story is a strong man, Okonkwo, with an overwhelming need to prove himself--to himself and his tribe; he must overcome the bad reputation of his drunkard ne'er-do-well father. Although Okonkwo can easily defeat enemies he can wrestle, chop or kill; his stubborn pride and anger collide with and fail to overcome those aspects of life which he cannot so readily tackle: providence, family and tribal laws.

So much of the appeal of Things -- for me at least -- is watching Okonkwo encounter a traditional village. I was fascinated (and repulsed) by its customs, mores, and overall precarious harmony. The appropriateness of the title is in the extreme delicacy of that tribal balance which is rocked to the core by the arrival of the English missionaries. All that was as Okonkwo understood the world to be, changes with the introduction of Christianity and Western civilization. It is both a clash of one individual against his own society and a foreign power, as well as the collision of two diametrically opposed cultures. You don't often find so much carefully-contained conflict in a book of this size. Truly incredible!

Chinua Achebe wrote this masterpiece before most of the African nations had declared their independence. Since that time, the Dark Continent has been washed in rivers of blood. One wonders when, and prays for an end to, all the suffering. Such a sacred place and beautiful people; in many ways so like the Garden of Eden. Long live Africa!

Thanks to Ginnie for this link from The Economist about A Golden Jubilee of Things Fall Apart.

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23 November 2008: I'm almost finished and I so want to start writing my review on this incredible book but at the same time I know I need to let it 'gel'. I want to write about Things Fall Apart because it awakens and stirs up so many thoughts and feelings inside; it reminds me of every other book I've ever read about Africa and yet it is like none of them.

Ah well . . . self-control booklady! ...more

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Oct 23, 2009 Mark rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommended to Mark by: Book-club

Shelves: good-grief-of-course-i-must-have-r, bookclub-reads, books-to-unsettle

Whenever I buy a book for someone as a gift I always include a bookmark, its one of those things I inherited from my parents. As a result of which, whenever I see some nice or quirky or unusual bookmarks I buy them.

A few years ago I bought about ten long metal markers on which were engraved the 50 books one 'ought to have read'. Looking down the list I saw this one and ticked it off as one I had read, though I didn't remember it very well. Then a few months ago my book-club opted to read it. As ...more

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Feb 15, 2012 Mercutio rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is my new favorite book because within five minutes, a person's reaction will tell me how defensive they are about being considered racist, whether or not they've been accused that minute.
This is an excellent way to identify racists, for fun and profit.

Seriously, covering it in class has been like, "Fielding Racists 101" and "How to Sound Over-Defensive When Talking About How African People Are Actually More Violent, No Totally" class.

One guy actually said there was literally no parallel or ...more

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Apr 26, 2017 Khashayar Mohammadi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: african-lit, history, faith-spirituality

I gotta admit I did not enjoy the book at first, but a few chapters in it got me. I'm still on the fence with Achebe, since the few books I have read by him have left me with bittersweet memories of Objective innocence towards atrocities committed in the name of colonialism. I feel narrative objectivity was a crucial aspect of Achebe's storytelling, but I can't say I enjoy how he writes. I loved his thorough yet simplistic introduction to Ibo culture and language, as well as the juxtaposition of ...more

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Sep 16, 2017 Trudie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: read-harder-2017, classic, best-of-2017, 5-star-reads

I had an illustrated Folio edition of this book on my shelves for almost a decade and I kept skipping over it to reach for other books. Finally, a nudge from a Read Harder challenge prompt got me to pick it up and I am glad as I thought it was amazing.

This book fits rather well into my reading year after recently finishing Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah both dealing with modern day Nigeria or the Nigerian diaspor ...more

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Sep 06, 2016 Kavita rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, africa, colonialist-bullshit, classics, nigeria

There has been rarely a fictional work of such complexity when the focal point is colonisation. Most books are either firmly convinced that the traditional ways were the best, or they firmly believe that colonisation was the best thing ever to happen, depending on the author's perspective. But Achebe goes far deeper than that, bringing out the nuances of the good and bad aspects of both sides.

This is a brilliant book, written in the oral tradition of African stories and legends. I generally don' There has been rarely a fictional work of such complexity when the focal point is colonisation. Most books are either firmly convinced that the traditional ways were the best, or they firmly believe that colonisation was the best thing ever to happen, depending on the author's perspective. But Achebe goes far deeper than that, bringing out the nuances of the good and bad aspects of both sides.

This is a brilliant book, written in the oral tradition of African stories and legends. I generally don't like that kind of narrative, but it really suits this book. Achebe is a great writer and I really enjoyed the very subtle sarcasm against malpractices by both African and European cultures. I also love the fact that he focused so strongly on the rampant sexism.

Okonkwo is the protagonist. He is arrogant, warmongering, sexist, and in short, a brute. He is not a sympathetic character. He considers no one else's dignity except his own. In the end, when colonisation happened, he too lost his dignity and his life. His contempt for women is deep-rooted and one of the questions I asked myself was whether if he had been "more like a woman", he might not have been a better person overall and avoided his ultimate fate.

One of the finest things about Things Fall Apart is how immersed I got into the book. It was a wonderful story and it was also beautifully detailed in all aspects of Igbo life. Every single page told a story, and deepened my understanding of this culture. Like with everything else, it had the bad and the good. The question remains, and will never be answered: What kind of progress would have been made with women's rights and eliminating superstition without the missionaries forcing a change in the culture? After all, all they did was to substitute one kind of misogyny and superstition with another.

As a depiction of colonisation, this is one of the best books I have read. The gradual changes to society, the flocking of the disenfranchised people to the church, and the government support offered to the church members against the tribes all contributed to the ultimate fallout. Before one knew it, things had changed and most people would be hard put to actually pinpoint the time when it happened. As Desmond Tutu so aptly put it: When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land. That is what happened in this story too. ...more

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Apr 06, 2018 Yousra Ouail rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

we were asked to read this novel in RPW (Research Paper Writing)module. I had no idea what it was about. However, when I read it I thanked my teacher for her choice and even made it the topic of my RP.
This novel is about human beings in the first place. It opens our eyes to how Africans were marginalized in the white man's literature. unlike what we read in The Coral Island and Heart of Darkness and many others, how locals are described as savages and flesh eaters, Achebe's masterpiece lets us i ...more

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Feb 16, 2019 leynes rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: black-writers, african-writers

Oh boy, where do I start? I read Things Fall Apart (the entire African Trilogy acutally) this year for Black History Month. So quite a bit of time has passed already and I am unhappy to report that the story hasn’t really left a lasting impression on me. I have forgotten many plot points and had to consult many secondary sources in order to write this review. I definitely want to reread Things Fall Apart when I am older, I think it’s one of those books that, to put it into Calvino’s words, “has ...more

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About Chinua Achebe

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Chinua Achebe was a novelist, poet, professor at Brown University and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Raised by Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. He became fascinated with world religion Chinua Achebe was a novelist, poet, professor at Brown University and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Raised by Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria, Achebe excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. He became fascinated with world religions and traditional African cultures, and began writing stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian Broadcasting Service and soon moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention for Things Fall Apart in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe writes his novels in English and has defended the use of English, a "language of colonizers", in African literature. In 1975, his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" became the focus of controversy, for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist".

When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe became a devoted supporter of Biafran independence and served as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved himself in political parties but soon resigned due to frustration over the corruption and elitism he witnessed. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and returned to the U.S. in 1990 after a car accident left him partially disabled.

Achebe's novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. He became the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.

Achebe died at age 82 following a brief illness. ...more

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“The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.” — 346 likes

“There is no story that is not true, [...] The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.” — 224 likes

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