Reviews with content warning for Murder - Things Fall Apart

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Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

73 reviews

eleek0609's review

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informative inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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ashleymg99's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a book that I somehow missed reading this in my high school English curriculum. I decided to finally pick it up for the StoryGraph read the world challenge, and because one of my friends said this was their favorite book.

I can’t recommend the Crash Course video on this book enough- after reading it, it enhanced my understanding of text and provided a lot of additional context, that I will summarize below:

Chinua Achebe was uniquely positioned to tell this story because of his background. With a father who was an evangelical Christian and extended family that was part of traditional Igbo culture - he offers a criticism of European colonialism that neither demonizes nor exhalts either culture. It’s a wonderful first-hand account of the customs of the Igbo people, and an amazing edition to my read the world challenge!

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themissyreads's review against another edition

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challenging informative tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Look up trigger warnings.
I had to sit with this one a while because i knew i loved the first half (5/5) but wasn’t sure how i felt about the second. A big narrative shift happens. Most of the plot of the first half happens in the course of a couple of weeks or months at most. The second half covers ~10 years and the time skips and exposition is such that we lose contact with characters and their relationships which does mirror the effect of colonialism on the community. I get *why* in that sense, but parts of the second half felt rushed and maybe underdeveloped where the first half was SO illustrative and intimate. So I didnt enjoy the second half as much. I took my time, annotated, took notes on the first half but made almost no marks in the second, if that tells you anything. I’d still reccomend, its a quick read just definitely mot your Why Colonialism is Bad 101 bc thats not what the book is going for.

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nkmustdie's review

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challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.5

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halogenl95's review

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challenging sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This book tells the story of Okonkwo’s life and the trauma he endured throughtout his life. It’s hard to describe what kind of story it is since it does not follow any formula. But one thing is for sure, it is a sad story. I kept hoping things will get better but it never really does, much like life. The progression of the story is also not towards a resolution. It simply details how things keep falling apart.

Personally, I don’t think I would recommend it to friends because it’s not reflective enough to be worth the sadness nor enjoyable enough to read on the beach, which are the only 2 types of books that I read.

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hanfaulder's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I thought that Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was a thoroughly interesting short read. I can understand fully why this novel is considered a classic, and rightfully so, for it was engaging and thought-provoking, even if I did not personally always connect with the stories emotional content. Achebe masterfully implements simple language to interrogate much grander, complex ideas: Things Fall Apart addresses themes of cultural clashes and culture mixing. Everything from parenthood, systems of belief, culture and community is touched on within this book. The language used by Achebe is also very evocative of the time and place that the novel is set within: authentic and simplistic in a way that I think brings humanity to the prose. In his descriptions and comparisons, the world becomes a body and a body becomes the world - the forrest is fraught with tall, dark spirits, the full moon is a protective eye, the hot air is taught like a bow-string, the White Men are like locusts.

The narrative follows Okonkwo, a prominent tribal man. He is characterised at the beginning of the story as being the greatest wrestler in all the surrounding villages, and as a warrior, evidenced by the five decapitated heads hanging in his compound. To Okonkwo, who was a weak child with a father who he considered the source of all weakness, his identity as someone "self-made" and strong is the backbone of the story. Even if these qualities ultimately lead to Okonkwo's downfall; they are important signifiers within our protagonists worldview for masculinity and control. The book focuses pretty closely on Okonkwo's perspective - from rising to the hight of the clan's power, into his exile and his ultimate tragedy. Achebe is even-handed in his storytelling: we can see both how and why Okonkwo does what he does. This does not, however, make him a sympathetic character, or even a likeable one, and for me this meant that some of the emotional impact didn't hit quite as hard. The ending, however, did surprise me and leave me a little teary-eyed.

(Light spoilers ahead)

Things Fall Apart is ultimately a story about identity: both wrestling with one's own identity within tradition and community - Okonkwo sees his son Nwoye as weak and effeminate, resembling Okonkwo's own disappointing father, and his treatment of Nwoye ultimately leads to him abandoning his father's beliefs for the White Man's Religion, which Okonkwo considers 'the prospect of anhiliation' - as well as the effect that English Evangelical Missionaries and The Church had upon the peoples of Nigeria. The colonialism in the final half of the book mirrors the narrative of fathers and sons. First of Okonkwo and his relationship to his father and the kind of unhealthy masculinity which it creates within him, and then how Okonkwo is a lacking father in turn to his adopted son Ikemefuna and his eldest son Nwoye.

Furthermore, this comparison is even more apparent when considering the portrayal of women in the book: Ezinma's mother swearing to 'rush into the cave to defend [Ezinma] against all the gods in the world' and resolving to 'die with her', or when Okonkwo is exiled and flees to his motherland, his uncle says that 'when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his fatherland when things are good... but when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you'. The women take on a role that is both looked-down upon by our protagonist, Okonkwo, for being less than, but which is also the only source of comfort, safety and love provided in the book. Ikemefuna thinks of his mother's songs when he is lead away from the village, scared, before he is killed by Okonkwo who 'was afraid of being thought weak'; and at the same time Nwoye cries in his mother's hut, unable to do anything. I could honestly pull-apart the layers of this deceptively short novel for hours.

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