Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, first published in 1958, is the ultimate classic of African fiction introducing the reader to the life of the Igbo people, from whom the Nigerian writer Achebe descended.

The main character is Okonkwo, a hard-working man and a respected fighter, who, from a poor boy, becomes one of the most important men of the community in his homeland, Umuofia. One day the uncompromising leader accidentally kills a clansman, a young boy, and he must leave the village and cannot return for seven years.

After he moves back with his family, he finds that everything has changed. He has heard the news of the arrival of the missionaries and the spreading of a new religion, but he is still unprepared for what he finds at home: a community deeply divided. Soon, his shock is multiplied by the fact that even his own son, Nwoye, joins the missionaries.

Whether the changes are good or bad, some embrace them and some try to resist. We are witnessing a clash of cultures, one in which different religions and world views face each other, and the weaker one, Okonkwo's, has little chance.

One of the merits of the novel is that it was the first truly great piece of writing presenting the reader with a different view of native Africans--one very different from their image in the Western world. What readers could become familiar with was not the world of poverty and backwardness anymore. It is a fascinating land, which is also the land of happiness where mothers tell tales and sing songs for their children, a world with its own habits and practices, but with a culture nonetheless worthy of appreciation.

The story is about passionate and complex human beings; the characters are realistically drawn and are easy to identify with.
For understanding this utterly remarkable book, one is not required to have any background knowledge on the history of Africa, and you definitely won't regret reading it.

Reviewed By Ilona Hegedus
© May 2005