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

Aug 10, 2013 Nancy rated it really liked it

Shelves: africa, 2013-read, mr-lit-2013

At first, I was a little taken aback by the writing; it seemed to me that Achebe was using a very stripped down style to evoke the primitiveness of the society he was describing, and indeed this was an element, but then it became obvious to me that just as the society, despite being primitive, was at the same time highly evolved and complex, so Achebe's style was a good deal more subtle than had initially been apparent to me.

Written in the language of the oppressor, but with a rich vocabulary o ...more

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Jan 29, 2016 Sera rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, library, literary-fiction, series, 1001-books

Published in 1958, the novel provides an interesting reflection of the issues that Nigeria would face once it became an independent and was no longer subject to British rule. Achebe does a nice job of showing the difficulty of balancing local tradition and custom versus assimilation with the rest of the world by focusing on an unlikely protagonist in the book, Okonkwo, and his attempts to stand up to the changes that the white man brings to Nigeria.

I found this book to be very interesting, and I ...more

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Apr 10, 2017 Andy Plonka rated it liked it

Shelves: src

Insightful look into the mind and culture of native Africans. I wish the characters had names that wedidn't all start with O or E. Unfamiliar names are hard to remember and identical starting letters only adds to the confusion. ...more

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Nov 21, 2016 Tok rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5

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Jan 06, 2012 Jessica rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: africa, 1001, audio

In a way this reminds me (quite positively) of those elementary school storytimes when we'd listen to the librarian read us fables from other cultures - this books hits that tone of engrossingly informative and deeply relatable at the same time. Okonkwo is a hard guy to like, but throughout you feel as though you understand where he's coming from and what's behind him and his world. ...more

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