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A review by mukundshm
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
3.0
I found this to be a scathing critique—or at least a scathing observation—of colonialism in the African context. I also found it to be extremely interesting; I was completely unaware about how Nigerian society was organised prior to colonialism. Plus, I felt like it was extremely balanced, and didn’t really have any obvious lenses it was speaking through.
I did feel like the book was quite slow, though. It spent a little bit too much time working to create an image of society prior to colonialism and spent way too little time to consider how colonialism actually affected society. Basically a third of the book was the latter, two-thirds felt a little bit like exposition.
I did feel like the book was quite slow, though. It spent a little bit too much time working to create an image of society prior to colonialism and spent way too little time to consider how colonialism actually affected society. Basically a third of the book was the latter, two-thirds felt a little bit like exposition.
Content Warnings
Chinua Achebe writes about Nigerian society in precolonial times, and the impact of colonialism on Nigeria—not at large, but rather taking a more in depth look at a certain clan, and perhaps even a certain individual.
It comments on—or at least observes—the nature of society and how it evolved with colonialism/British imperialism and how it impacted the people who suffered from it.