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This was my Kansas high school's token acknowledgment that there is such a thing as African Lit. Achebe takes the formula for Greek tragedy and then overlays it with a fascinating and richly detailed cultural exposition about life in pre-colonial Nigeria amongst the Ibo tribe. The matter-of-fact prose slowly gives away to a tale about the downfall of a proud man and his families legacy in the face of colonialism. Cue teenage feelings of faux white guilt.
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I had never read any literature from Africa, but read this one because of "Literatures of English Expression" subject. It seemed weird in the beginning, but this feeling disappeared as soon as I got used to the author's style. I think this happened because instead of starting with something happening in the story, it starts with somebody's description, followed by another character's description, and you have no connection with those characters, so you don't feel like going on in your reading. H
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I had had a copy of this book since 1992, recommended by a good friend of mine, but I never got around to reading it. When I did pick it up, I was looking forward to "a powerful and moving narrative that critics have compared with classic Greek tragedy". Unfortunately, despite all the hype - or maybe because of it - I was disappointed in the book. While the story is interesting and does give some insight into the effect of the arrival of the white missionaries on traditional Ibo life, I found th
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I used to wonder how Ezinma is like if she would grow. She deserved a novel of her own. But that is exactly the hard truth of the novel. You loved an ogbanje of your own, you cherished all you have in the ways of your fathers, and then those fundamental things of your standing ground started to shake.
I read this in college for a class and remember it was good. Sometimes in life things just go to hell in a handbasket around you and there's not much you can do but roll with it. At least that's what I remember of it.
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Aug 20, 2009
Vesra (When She Reads)
marked it as to-read
Sep 24, 2009
John J.
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Jul 26, 2010
Courtney
marked it as to-read
Aug 30, 2010
Erica
marked it as to-read
