Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1)

by Chinua Achebe

But his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness.

To show affection was a sign of weakness; the only thing worth demonstrating was strength.

The land of the living was not far removed from the domain of the ancestors. There was coming and going between them, especially at festivals and also when an old man died, because an old man was very close to the ancestors.

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.”