This is the last book I’ve read in 2019 (at this point) and I’m starting with it’s review because I have book club tomorrow and it’ll help me process my thoughts.

This is the second time that I have “read” this audible version of this book by Chinua Achebe. I don’t think I need to introduce him or the book, it’s a classic.

Achebe was a Nigerian author, made famous most notably by this book, but he has plenty of other books to his name, at least 7. Things Fall Apart was first published in 1958 and it follows the fortunes and misfortunes of Okonkwo, a famous (fictional) Igbo warrior from Umuofia.

It is written from the Omnicient POV, with Okonkwo as the only protagonist, and is set in the villages that would later be incorporated into Nigeria pre-colonisation and the early stages of colonisation.

What really stood out for me in this book, especially the second time around, was how the “sins of the father” really have such a profound impact on their sons. We see this in how Okonkwo’s world view is shaped to be exactly the opposite to his father, which initially brings him his fame, wealth and fortune; but it also leads to his detriment. His son, Nwoye, in turn, ends the exact opposite of his father and takes on his grandfather’s characteristics. This really made me reflect on how what you focus on, your flaws or others, will always keep you captive, whether you are aware of it or not.

I also really enjoyed how I learnt a lot about the Igbo culture in a natural manner. We always hear how African culture is not written down and it is lost, but Achebe has kept his culture alive in an iconic manner. I laughed, cried, marvelled and sometimes side-eyed cultural nuances that peppered this tragedy. It also fascinated me how similar some of their traditions are to the ones my parents, Ugandans, have. Showing how connected we are as Africans despite our obvious differences and distances.

The way in which colonization was introduced into the story, was gradual much like it would have happened in reality. And he threw in the racist comments and assumptions as casually as the missionaries would have. He highlighted how the Igbo lost out to the white man not because they were weak, outgunned nor outsmarted but because they were divided by religion. As an a-religious person myself, I have never understood why people are so attached to their religions. Achebe deftly demonstrated not why but how that attachment can be used to elevate marginalized people and use them as your weapons against a communities stronghold members.

It raises the question about the type of society that existed before the white man arrived, that made it ripe for manipulation. As well as, the notion that all societies go through ebbs and flows of who is the have and have not periodically. That we would never experience a utopia of equals. There will always be those who are more equal than others.

Great read, really easy to follow. Thought provoking and timeless.

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