Auntie Terror reviewed Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Review of 'Things Fall Apart' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
In this first novel of the trilogy, the reader follows the impact of colonization on an Igbo tribe in Nigeria. Families are torn apart by the new Christian faith some turn to while others remain with their own gods. The colonial power is shown to cruelly punish the African population for any breaking of laws which are not their own, and to otherwise treat them as stupid children at best.
What is most fascinating about the novel to me is the different way of story-telling, which reflects the tradition of oral narration very concisely. As a reader, I felt very "spoken to" in a way I haven't experienced with Western/European literary traditions.
On looking back now, I am also surprised at how cleverly the author has managed to get a reader of a completely different cultural background to accept the more violent customs of the tribe as something that has …
In this first novel of the trilogy, the reader follows the impact of colonization on an Igbo tribe in Nigeria. Families are torn apart by the new Christian faith some turn to while others remain with their own gods. The colonial power is shown to cruelly punish the African population for any breaking of laws which are not their own, and to otherwise treat them as stupid children at best.
What is most fascinating about the novel to me is the different way of story-telling, which reflects the tradition of oral narration very concisely. As a reader, I felt very "spoken to" in a way I haven't experienced with Western/European literary traditions.
On looking back now, I am also surprised at how cleverly the author has managed to get a reader of a completely different cultural background to accept the more violent customs of the tribe as something that has to be (the abandoning of newborn twins in the bush, the ritual mutilation of corpses, the beatings and wars between tribes) while making the reader feel the injustice of colonial violence at the same time. The representation seems the key to this: The more violent customs are related in passing, and basically without bloodshed (despite there having to be some), while the colonial violence is represented in all horrid detail. I do not think this unfair treatment, though.
If I'd had more spare time, I might possibly have read the book in a single session because it actually (and surprisingly for me) pulled me in right away.
