Mike’s Reviews > Things Fall Apart > Status Update

After reading this, I'm not thinking about any of the questions that I was told I would be. Achebe doesn't invite you to ponder whether what anybody does is right or wrong - he presents things in such a blandly objective way that there's nothing to ask about it.

I have absolutely no investment in this. And why should I? Everything is told in the most objective, dull manner possible.

Things are slowly moving along. There were a few good moments, I'll admit it.

It took me a minute to remember that 'faggot' used to mean firewood, and that it wouldn't have been a slur when Achebe was writing. It still jumped out at me.

So, is it wrong of me to expect this book to have a linear plot with a main conflict, and such? That's a serious question - am I holding this book to too much of a western standard? Or is Achebe just a terrible writer?

Do you guys think Okonkwo is angry? Or is it just a vibe that I'm getting? It's kind of a subtle thing, but I think that's what Achebe meant for us to get from this.

(Seriously, though, this book has no subtlety whatsoever.)

Required reading for two different classes, library books, books borrowed from friends, and a review request mean that I've somehow ended up reading seven books at once. Wonderful. This is far from the best of them - Achebe writes with absolutely no subtly at all, telling rather than showing every single thing we know so far about Okonkwo's tribe.