Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Feb 26, 2011 Kay rated it it was ok

Shelves: fiction, africa, world-lit

I read this dutifully, having heard for many years that it was a classic. It sat on my shelf for years. I picked it up occasionally and set it back down again. Today, however, I picked it up and read it straight through.

I understand why this book made such an impact, for it's a powerful tale, told in a deceptively simple fashion, as if it were a folk tale or parable.

This did not, alas, make me like it. Instead I came away feeling slightly irritated and nauseous. My son read this book in high sc ...more

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Nov 10, 2019 Jillian rated it it was amazing

I had no idea what to expect from this book and didn’t know the historical significance until after I read it. I was blown away by this. Particularly by the use of language, which is both beautiful and painful, and the story which is both sad and rich and complex and frustrating. You find yourself sympathizing with an extremely flawed (to say the least) protagonist, and by the time you’re halfway through, his world has become yours and this foreign entity coming onto his land, this mysterious im ...more

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May 24, 2009 Jen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fiction, lit-major, historical-fiction, africa, colonialism, favorites, around-the-world

I first read this for freshman year English in high school. This was the first time I'd ever read anything about African tribal life or colonialism from the colonializee's point-of-view. It was quite an eye opener for my 14 year old self in that I saw these were people with their own lives, strengths, weaknesses, valued customs--not just direct objects of European activity existing in the history books I'd had.

I reread it recently and still found it very moving. I like how the protagonist is ve ...more

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