Before
I’d ever read this book, before I even knew the basic outline of the story, I
knew that Things Fall Apart was “supposed” to be a book about the advent of
colonialism in Nigeria and the resulting destruction of the indigenous culture.
But well over half the book is about Onkonkwo, a successful farmer and leader
who is respected (but not particularly loved) in his village. Frankly, Onkonkwo
is as rigid and unyielding as any intolerant, colonizing Englishman and/or Christian missionary. I mean, there has to be a reason
that Achebe made his central character so very unsympathetic. Personally, I
think that any forceful challenge to Onkonkwo’s belief system would have
knocked him for a loop. His entire life was blind faith in tradition,
regardless of how such tradition made him feel or how it affected his loved
ones and I am not sure just how much this book was intended to be an indictment
of European colonialism as I had been led to believe. I realize that
Achebe wrote further books that are loosely considered to be part of a series,
so perhaps those books address this topic more specifically.
I was not super keen on the storytelling style of this book. It just is not my taste; very simplistic and bare-bones, which totally suits the story, but it isn’t something I particularly enjoy. And the title, a reference to a poem by Yeats (which I only know because I think Picard quoted on Star Trek Next Generation once), belies that simplicity. What I did like were the little authorial hints about other villages with other traditions, and the glimpse into a tradition and culture which is now most certainly non-existent in the form presented in the novel, although bits and pieces surely remain today in modern Nigeria. Even though I didn’t really love the writing style, I think that this is a book that can be understood and appreciated on a variety of levels. It is deceptively simple and subtle.
I read this book for the category “Classic by a Non-White Author” in the 2016 Back to the Classic Challenge hosted by Karen on the blog Books and Chocolate. I am glad I finally got to it since it has been on my list for many years and particularly I wanted to read it before I tackled Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen since my Father told me that one could see a definite link between the two books.
I was not super keen on the storytelling style of this book. It just is not my taste; very simplistic and bare-bones, which totally suits the story, but it isn’t something I particularly enjoy. And the title, a reference to a poem by Yeats (which I only know because I think Picard quoted on Star Trek Next Generation once), belies that simplicity. What I did like were the little authorial hints about other villages with other traditions, and the glimpse into a tradition and culture which is now most certainly non-existent in the form presented in the novel, although bits and pieces surely remain today in modern Nigeria. Even though I didn’t really love the writing style, I think that this is a book that can be understood and appreciated on a variety of levels. It is deceptively simple and subtle.
I read this book for the category “Classic by a Non-White Author” in the 2016 Back to the Classic Challenge hosted by Karen on the blog Books and Chocolate. I am glad I finally got to it since it has been on my list for many years and particularly I wanted to read it before I tackled Chigozie Obioma’s The Fishermen since my Father told me that one could see a definite link between the two books.
