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Things Fall Apart (Penguin Classics) [Paperback]

Chinua Achebe (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 26 Jan 2006 | ISBN-10: 0141023384 | ISBN-13: 978-0141023380

Okonowo 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, Okonowo takes violent action. Will the great man's dangerous pride eventually destroy him?

Frequently Bought Together

Things Fall Apart (Penguin Classics) + Americanah + Half of a Yellow Sun
Price For All Three: £25.83

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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics (26 Jan 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141023384
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141023380
  • Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 1.5 x 18.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (110 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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› Visit Amazon's Chinua Achebe Page
Chinua Achebe
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Amazon Review

One of the most widely read novels from Nigeria's most famous novelist, Things Fall Apart is a gripping study of the problem of European colonialism in Africa. The story relates the cultural collision that occurs when Christian English missionaries arrive among the Ibos of Nigeria, bringing along their European ways of life and religion. In the novel, the Nigerian Okonkwo recognizes the cultural imperialism of the white men and tries to show his own people how their own society will fall apart if they exchange their own cultural core for that of the English. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

'The first novel in English which spoke from the interior of an African character, rather than portraying the African as exotic, as the white man would see him' Wole Soyinka "The Founding Father of the African novel in English" - The Guardian --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
77 of 84 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars from Keyne Readers 17 May 2006
By Keyne Reader
Format:Paperback
There was unanimous agreement in our Book Group that we had all enjoyed this book. We mostly came to it not knowing what to expect, and enjoyed the perspective it gave us into a completely different society and way of life.

The way in which the first part of the book was written helped us to see how the tribal system worked and what the old beliefs were, it made us a part of the village and you saw life through their eyes and their values. It enabled you to accept, for instance, the polygamy, the treatment of women, and the killing of twin children without condemnation. It was this description of the tribal life that helped us to see, in the second part, what a devastating effect the arrival of the missionaries had on the tribe and how it gradually divided them and changed their way of life for ever.

Okonkwo makes an unusual 'hero' or main character. We sympathise with his continual fight against his childhood circumstances, but this makes him ignore advice, arrogant, and unnecessarily brutal. He sees himself as cerebral, regarding passion as a weakness, so it is when he does demonstrate love and passion it stands out more starkly.

Chielo the priestess is interesting, both a well-known and loved village member, but also the oracle at the cave. Both with her, and with the egwugwu spirits of the ancestors, the villagers show an amazing ability to suspend disbelief.

We thought that the building of the missionaries' church on the ground of the evil spirits was a clever device which allowed the 'white man' to demonstrate the weakness of the traditional religion. Nevertheless the end took us all by surprise, nothing had prepared you for it, as by this time you had identified with the life of the villagers. It was made even more poignant when you realised that the story would only merit a paragraph in the Commissioner's book.
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64 of 70 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A masterful account of the downfall of a civilisation 15 Oct 2003
By A Customer
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Ironically, I got turned on to this book by a piece of music. For years I'd marvelled at The Roots' album whose name, I recently found out, was taken from the title of this book. Having a degree in English Literature dominated by DWEM (dead white european males), Achebe's name had never even surfaced on my radar. What a travesty. Things fall apart is the perfect account of a dead civilisation, following a man, Okinkwo, as he battles with his culture, only to see it destroyed from both within and without by European colonialism. In contradiction to other accounts of Africa (such as Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'), Achebe's account is beautiful for its lack of Orientalist language and allusions, treating the complexities of indiginous Africa as both beautiful and, above all, natural. Neither the Africans, nor the collonialists, are treated as unusual oddities, instead the author manages to impartially portray people, events and traditions with astounding pragmatism, the simple, often abrupt language only reinforcing the novel's lack of sentimentality. A miraculous novel, Things Fall Apart not only paints a picture of Africa during its golden-age, but also demonstrates the ignorance and orientalism which led to its destruction. A true masterpiece.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Quintessential Achebe 25 Jan 2007
By amalinze the cat
Format:Paperback
A most memorable book, Okonkwo looms large, but as a tragic figure is very human; small in the temporal context. His world is rapidly changing, christians have taken hold, and the gods seem to have gone silent. Indeed the 'pacification' of his village was thorough in this sense as it somehow strikes at the essence of their existence seemingly usurping it. The ghost of Okonkwo from this encounter still haunts the african continent; the tensions between the lure of modernisation and tradition. Achebe deals brilliantly with african space, connecting the past with the present, ensuring that precolonial space is documented for reference.

It is a most enjoyable read, one that must be revisited over and over again.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Rereading a classic
Many years after first reading Things Fall Apart I have picked it up again , following the sad news of Chinua Achebe's passing. It retains all its freshness and power.
Published 8 days ago by Sheen
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
In fact I am finding it quite difficult to read anything else after this. This will be a book that stays with you, deceptively simple and casually shocking or is that shockingly... Read more
Published 19 days ago by C Solaiman
5.0 out of 5 stars A very great modern classic
This superlative example of great modern English literature needs to be read by everybody. It explains so much about the human condition and the true nature of civilisation and... Read more
Published 24 days ago by Mr. J. Sutcliffe
5.0 out of 5 stars good
How do you rate this product? How do you rate this product? How do you rate this product? Very good
Published 25 days ago by Tsi Rose
2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing
Disappointing. Did not grip me. No story structure, just one thing after another, and then some more things after that. The end was good and quite moving, though. Read more
Published 26 days ago by Bobbie
4.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fascinating and totally engaging!
This masterful work takes you into the African tribal world of not too long ago and prior to the European invasion. Read more
Published 27 days ago by D. C. Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars Book I looking for
Good book to learn about the change in culture.Book to. Take in bookshelves and read and respond-read again good reading for teen.
Published 28 days ago by mariagrazia
5.0 out of 5 stars The decline of a brave man
Even though this is a tale which sets itself in the space of nine villages in Nigeria, it is a great book which picks up universal, Shakespearean themes. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Neasa MacErlean
5.0 out of 5 stars An African story from an African perspective
This is a brilliant account of the impact on traditional Igbo society of British colonial (and religious) ideas. Read more
Published 1 month ago by jhgr
5.0 out of 5 stars A realistic portrayal of Africa ... by an African!
I was truly saddened to hear about the passing of Chinua Achebe (22/03/2013). His portayal of African life
opened my eyes to real life, love, and hatred in his book 'Things... Read more
Published 1 month ago by The Brixtonian
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