Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe

I originally picked up this book in the autumn of last year and read a couple of pages, but then something else caught my eye and I didn't pick it back up until last week. Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, which is the first book of a trilogy, is undoubtedly a classic. At 151 pages in total, I read this in less than two hours - a speedy read. It's one of those novels (novel? Novella?) which you feel obliged to like and appreciate as the 'masterpiece' it is known as, but I'm not really sure what my feelings about this book were. Certainly, the message was hard-hitting. But the truth is that the reading of it was so fleeting that it was difficult to have any feelings about it at all. 

Perhaps my favourite Goodreads review is this one: "This is the worst thing I have ever freaking read. I don't give a dang about yams?" I just love it when people are so brutally honest about their dislike of a book, and for this person a mere two sentences sufficed to say it all! I can confirm that my feelings were not quite so strong, though this review amused me as they refuse to follow the crowd and highly rate a classic for the simple reason that it's a classic. The 1959 novel certainly falls into the genre of moral tale or fable, and has been likened to a Greek tragedy. The story follows the protagonist of Okonkwo, a member of the Igbo people in Nigeria, and the short book details the tribe's daily activities as well as revealing the cultural impact of colonialism. Okonkwo is a famous wrestling champion, known far and wide as a strong and fearsome man, and has three wives and many children, who are each subservient to his every demand. He is a man who acts with anger and impatience, and often beats his wives if he so feels like it. In a nutshell, he is not a likeable protagonist!

   

This book doesn't have a massive amount of plot going on. It begins by detailing the hardships of a young Okonkwo who struggles to have a successful harvest but is eventually able to overcome this and prosper. His father was a lazy man who was not respected within the tribe, and he desires nothing more than to take a different path in life and disassociate himself from the memory of his father's failings. Essentially, the driving force of the narrative is the death of a tribe member, whom Okonkwo kills accidentally. Because of this, he is made to enter a period of exile for seven years to atone - a rule long enforced by the tribe elders. As a result, the home he has built and the wealth he has accumulated is lost, and he returns to his motherland to wait out his exile in shame. By the time he returns to his tribe, hoping to regain his respected position in society, everything has changed - the British have brought prosperity to the area in the form of a school and clinic, and have begun to build Christian churches, and former tribesmen are converting and leaving behind their old values. 

The reason it was difficult to feel much for this book was simply the fact that the story did not reach its potential and was not fleshed out as it could have been in a longer novel. I was left wanting more, and significantly underwhelmed by the lack of depth. I did enjoy the addition of proverbs throughout the book, and Achebe's writing and language was beautiful - even poetic. This is in no way a happy book (the name says it all!) and so in that way, perhaps it's a good thing that you don't become attached to the characters. Hard-hitting, poignant, and the message certainly leaves a lasting impression on you - but I just wanted a little more from it.