"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

This book tells the story of Okonkwo, a man from the Umofia area of Nigeria. Thanks to his hard work and determination he is now a rich and well respected man with three wives even though he was born in a very poor family. His father, Unoka, was a lazy man who died in shame and with many unpaid debts. Okowkwo's greatest fear is of being, or seeming, weak and lazy like his father. Okonkwo is a strong man who leads his family with an iron fist. He refuses to show any feelings which do not demonstrate strength. He fights against what he reads as sign of laziness in Nwoye, his eldest son. Okonkwo cannot respect any weakness and cannot show any fairness to anybody with weaknesses. He has a very volatile temper and angers easily. His family fears him and knows that if he is angry he will find an excuse to vent his anger. In one particular instance he ends up beating his second wife accusing her of having killed a banana tree when in fact she has only cut a few leaves to wrap food.

With Okonkwo’s family leaves a young boy Ikemefuna who was born in another village but was given to Okonkwo’s village as part of a payment for a young woman who was murdered. Now Ikemefuna belongs to the village. Three years after his arrival in Okonkwo's home the oracle announces that Ikemefuna has to be killed. Okonkwo is told to make sure that he has not part in the killing since Ikemefuna is like a son to him and calls him “father”. But as things happen because of his fear of appearing weak Okonkwo ends up being the man killing Ikemefuna.

Because the book is written in a story telling style and because it seems to be more a gathering of different stories about or around Okonkwo than a linear accurate recounting of events sometimes it can be a little frustrating. I wish I knew more about the consequences of Ikemefuna’s death…. Or maybe there are no consequences worth mentioning.

The book is split into three parts, at the end of part I Okonkwo kills a young man of his clan in an accident and has to leave the clan for seven years.

The second, very short, part is a brief account of the seven years in exile but only really tells us about some major events in the areas, and really tells us nothing of what happens to Okonkwo. It tells us how in this second year of exile Obierika, his friend, comes to tells him the story of the first white man seen in the area and how this resulted in one of the nine villages of Umofia to be exterminated. Then two years later the missionaries come. Even Nwoye’s, Okonkwo’s eldest son, conversion to Christianity is not really explained.

The third part start once the seven years of exiles are over and tells the story of Okonkwo confrontation with the white man when he returns to his village after his exile.

The rhythm of the writing, the style of both the writing and the stories is very different from western novels. As much as it was frustrating sometimes, it was also very pleasant. I like to be told stories and this book told me a few stories, taught me a few things about Nigeria and I enjoyed it. I much preferred the first part to the other two and only the third part made the second part palatable to me. The ending was foretold as soon as a white man showed up and right there I nearly stopped reading. But in this unavoidable end Chinua Achebe adds something more than just the well known history of colonization. He adds something about humans, about how they cope, or do not cope, how they view themselves. It is for each reader to decide who actually “coped” because there is no way for anybody to be right in this story.

All together I would say that this is a good book well worth the read, especially since it is easy to find.