Paperback, 209 pages

English language

Published July 11, 2006 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:
978-0-14-102338-0
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
1064415016

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4 stars (17 reviews)

Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa, and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan.

But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone - even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists. When outsiders threaten the traditions of his clan, Okonkwo takes violent action. Will the great man's dangerous pride eventually destroy him?. (back cover)

39 editions

Review of 'Things Fall Apart' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is the case of three stars is too low four stars is too high. I like this book though I didn't think it was fun to read. It was a book that everybody had to read in my high school but in the year before I started. I can understand why it was designed and I'm glad it was but I feel the telling of the story has matured over the years thanks to other authors. That said it was an important book in the culture and should continue to be read because it introduced Western world to The narrative of the negative effects of colonialism

reviewed Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Heinemann African Writers Series; Red Classics)

Review of 'Things Fall Apart' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

As the title suggests, this is a story about a world that is about to endure irrevocable changes. The main character in particular, a self-made man with many honors but at least as many flaws, is pushed to the breaking point, with heartbreaking results. Chinua Achebe's prose is eloquent, steeping us in the culture of this Nigerian tribe as if we are invited guests. This is a novel I will likely read more than once.

reviewed Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Heinemann African Writers Series; Red Classics)

Review of 'Things Fall Apart' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The silver lining in my personal Covid-19 lockdown has been my re-engagement with reading fiction; pursuing two degrees in History on a part-time basis while working full-time meant that whatever spare time I had was more profitably spent in reading around my subject rather than reading for pleasure. The conclusion of my studies and the enforced restriction of movement has therefore opened up an opportunity for me to read purely for the pleasure of reading, and as a consequence I have finally got around to reading books, like Things Fall Apart, that have been on my mental 'to read' list for far too long.

All I really knew about this book before reading it was always hearing this book described as being the first post-colonial novel. So it was with very little in the way of pre-conceptions that I read this book. I found the novel well written, and felt …

reviewed Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Heinemann African Writers Series; Red Classics)

Review of 'Things Fall Apart' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

Wow. For the first half of this book I thought it a bit artless and frustrating, but it turns into a very much cleverer and more subtle work than I had been expecting. Ultimately the book is utterly damning about colonialism without ever romanticising what came before it.

I feel weird tagging "spoilers" about a book the outlines of which are pretty well known, and the plot of which is basically described in the publisher blurb, but in spite of all that there were some surprises as I went, so here goes:

First of all, there is one thing that annoyed me intensely through the entire book: the complete lack of any development of female characters or voices. I can imagine a defence of that in terms of the book describing two intensely patriarchal cultures and their meeting, but I'm still digesting Achebe's critique of Conrad. One of his more …

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