Things Fall Apart: A Novel

Things Fall Apart, by noted author Chinua Achebe, is the fictional story of a family living in a small village, weathering and tolerating clan and religious traditions, until the coming of the British, who bring their own set of "clan" and religious traditions.

It's also a misogynistic tale full of anger and violence.

Achebe develops a story that has, as its key insult, to be called a woman. The reader is reminded of this over and over:

"That was why he had called him a woman. Okonkwo knew how to kill a man's spirit" (p. 26).

"No matter how prosperous a man was, if he was unable to rule his women and his children (and especially his women) he was not really a man" (p. 53).

"If any one of you prefers to be a woman, let him follow Nwoye now while I am alive so that I can curse him" (p. 172).

"He mourned for the clan, which he saw breaking up and falling apart, and he mourned for the warlike men of Umuofia, who had so unaccountably become soft like women" (p. 183).

There is an interesting story here, but the stories of the women are not just hidden and untold, but they are ground into kola nut paste. Frankly, Achebe is either not interested, or not able, to incorporate a female perspective in this tale. It is an ancient male fantasy of control and dominion. Beat the wife who is late with dinner. But she still exists 24/7. How can she be invisible?

The answer, I believe, lies in the location (Africa) and Achebe's creative period for this book (it was first published in 1959). If written today, it would be a different story. But the misogyny is still key. This is a story written by one who didn't understand women, even in 1959.

I wonder about its attraction today. Are we to pity the poor, "uncivilized" Africans? Are we to accept the deletion of women as significant in a community?

So... interesting, but irritating. Well-written, but brutal enough to lack "classic" status. This is not Africa, and even in the past, Africa was a big enough place that this tale didn't "speak" for all clans, tribes, and nations.

On the back cover, the promotional material states "Uniquely and richly African, at the same time it reveals Achebe's keen awareness of the human qualities common to men of all times and places." I don't think so.

I read Things Fall Apart as part of a survey course on African History. The writing style is simplistic but elegant, and Achebe's ability to craft a story is magnificent. I found it very difficult to put down, and will be reading it again soon.

Native of Nigeria, Africa, Chinua Achebe wrote his own masterpiece fictional novel entitled "Things Fall Apart," which took place in his own country during the 19th century. Achebe has used his own background of an African village to create an interesting story that gives unique perspective of the African life and culture. The book is broken into three parts which describe the main character, Okonkwo, and the lifestyle in his village, the arrival of the missionaries and their actions toward the villagers, and the last year of Okonkwo's life.

The first part of "Things Fall Apart" expresses the lifestyle of the African culture in the village of Umuofia where the main character, Okonkwo, had lived. This first part consists of thirteen chapters that reveal the life in Umuofia, the wives and children of Okonkwo, the life and death of Ikemefuna, and the beginning of Okonkwo's exile. The second part of this book focuses on the life of the exile in Mbanta, the village of Okonkwo's mother. It consists of six chapters which reveal Okonkwo and his family living with his mother's kinsmen in Mbanta, the visits from Obierika, the arrival of the missionaries, the conversion of Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, and the last year of Okonkwo's exile. The final part of the novel expresses the actions of the missionaries, the return of Okonkwo to Umuofia, and the death of Okonkwo. It consists of six chapters that reveal Okonkwo's attempts to urge the villagers to fight against the missionaries after his return, Mr. James' attempt to change the belief of the villagers, and a certain death of the villager.

There is great deal of symbolism and meanings being expressed from this unique novel, and it also expresses a fascinating perspective about African life and the impact of cultural imperialism.

The novel is quite enjoyable to read and gives one a food for thought.

I'm not the biggest fan of the novel: it works better in theory than as literature for me. Still, you might get another "read" through if you have this well read version in your car.

I read "Things Fall Apart" in my school days in the then Rhodesia. I immediately fell in love with the book because I could relate a lot with tribal life in my village and the various forces that were impacting on it. The customs, rituals and beliefs were very similar. The impact of white missionaries on the lives of people in my village was also very powerful and caused a lot of clashes with the local people's way of life. Things all around us were changing, exposing the fragility of our culture, resulting in inevitable conflicts.

The main character, Okonkwo, was a respected and powerful village hero. However, as we progress with reading the book, he is struck with tragedies which ultimately consume him because of his inability to cope with change. This book had a profound influence on me and made me appreciate the intellectual talent within the continent.

The book is a must read for people on the African continent where strong traditional beliefs still have a firm hold in a time of breathtaking changes wrought about by the unstoppable globalization process. The ability of African people to stop or significantly influence the pace, direction and extend of change is very limited. The tragedies that befell Okonkwo are continuing but in different forms on the continent. This is largely due to the failure to adapt to change and failure to appreciate that, however much we firmly hold and justify some of our beliefs, we cannot force others to agree with us and if we try, we will fail anyway.

An important lesson from this book is the echoing of Charles Darwin's conclusion that it is not the strongest of the species or the most intelligent that will survive in a changing environment, but those species that can best adapt to change.