From the Bookshelf of Overdue Podcast…

Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)

Chinua Achebe

Start date: December 4, 2015

Finish date: December 4, 2015

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Mar 02, 2019 Chandler rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, books-for-boys, adult-fiction, 300-or-less-pgs, historical-fiction, 3-star, classics

When it comes to the book that I was looking forward to the most this year, this was most definitely in the top ten. I can remember reading this back when I was in high school and loving it for its unique take on African culture. Now, some ten years later, I was looking forward to seeing if my opinion had changed at all since then. Has it? Yes, but I think this is due to more my own opinion than the book itself.

This book, as far as classics are concerned, can boast one of the biggest advantages When it comes to the book that I was looking forward to the most this year, this was most definitely in the top ten. I can remember reading this back when I was in high school and loving it for its unique take on African culture. Now, some ten years later, I was looking forward to seeing if my opinion had changed at all since then. Has it? Yes, but I think this is due to more my own opinion than the book itself.

This book, as far as classics are concerned, can boast one of the biggest advantages of any novel: it’s diversity. There simply was not a book like this out there for it’s time, and many modern books like Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi owe a debt to. This also extends to its characters who are very layered and interesting, none more so than Okonkwo. He is a man who hates feminine ideas, and, indeed, any sign of ‘weakness’ in his sons. Yet, it is this attribute that can often get him into trouble. His son, due to Okonkwo’s harsh treatment, goes over to the Christians, and Okonkwo’s gun going off and killing a man puts his family in exile. Ironically, his extreme views on violence could also have helped his community fight off the European invaders, but by the time some do accept his brand of thinking, it is too late, and the English have managed to gain an immovable foothold in the region.

We also see many different elements of African culture and day to day life in this book. It is fascinating to see how the economies, social structure, and political structure work in Okonkwo’s village. This is just an excellent way to open the eyes to the reader to cultures other than your own. By the time the Christians do come into the story, you do feel as though they are outsiders, and that they are alien to this culture, which is a feeling that many other authors today struggle to capture. The atmosphere is simply amazing.

Yet, the atmosphere can also hurt the novel the most. For all the great points that the world can give us, for most of the book, it is just discussing the day to day life of these people in Okonkwo’s village. The Christians/Europeans do not appear until much later in the novel, which can make the book often seem long and tedious. Couple this with the unusual writing style, and there were times where I thought that the end conflict was not worth the wait of watching Okonkwo’s family take care of their community.

Still, this is a good book, that I can understand why, at the time, I liked so much back in high school. However, unpn rereading, I can also understand why so many people can have problems with this novel. In the end I fall somewhere in the middle. I can totally understand both sides of this argument, and can completely sympathize with both viewpoints. Therefore, I give this book a three out of five. ...more

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