Reviews

Anthills of the Savannah by Chinua Achebe

zajtrajsok's review against another edition

3.5

• Confusing time jumps and POV shifts. It took me a while to get used to them.
• I'm not gonna lie, I had to look up a lot Nigerian Pidgin English words to make sense of some dialogues. That's not really a complaint, though.
• The ending! I have hoped for a happy ending, but that's not how it works in the real world. Some say the book's ending is hopeful, even optimistic, but I just feel like it implies that history will keep repeating itself again and again, which I guess is true.
• I'm sure that many references and connections flew right over my head, since I know very little about politics and history, but it was still an interesting read that gave me some insight into Nigeria and other African countries. 

hollyhowell's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

chikamma's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective slow-paced

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

4.0

rev's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

daisyemmahughes's review against another edition

dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

3.5

paytonmckenna's review against another edition

3.5

this was hard to get into at first and that initial disorientation kind of tainted the rest of my experience reading it. i’m sure i’ll be able to appreciate it more once i spend more time with it though.

paritea's review against another edition

4.0

Fun read. Nothing more to say. Starts funny. Ends with the feels.

gracie_schrader19's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

lydiaharper's review against another edition

dark funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

k_wright's review against another edition

4.0

- Long build-up to a quick climax nicely parallels the political satire (?) of the novel. Appreciated that there was no simple solution to complex political situations, too easy of a trope to fall into.
- Great characterization; sometimes a bit heavy-handed on some of the allegories for specific characters. Appreciated especially some of the 'bit' characters; esp. Professor Okong.
- Great descriptions of mythological tie-ins (Igbo and other West African influences).