Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

95 reviews

yolie's review against another edition

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

A commanding book, and completely understandable why it is seen as a pioneer of the African literary scene.

Things Fall Apart - whether through inaction or due to the actions of others. This book albeit slow paced, introduces you to a Nigerian community not yet influenced by Christianity and this it follows strict traditional African spirituality and practises. It chronicles a society so rich in culture and identity and its eventual collapse due to the arrival of evangelists.

The book takes a really long time to hit its stride, and despite it being a short novel, it often feels longer than it was.

While newer fiction and writers can be praised for their (better) command of language and storytelling, Chinua Achebe achieved a feat no other African writer had done at the time and this book - in the context that it came out in - is remarkable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide, Sexism, Child death, Slavery, Colonisation, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Violence

Although slow paced, as the book goes on you begin to see why ‘Things Fall Apart’.

booksngrannies's review against another edition

challenging reflective tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Colonisation and Domestic abuse

kaddyren's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense slow-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

1.5

not for me… very slow and boring in my opinion. ending hit very hard but the middle was very unmemorable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Violence

Minor: Colonisation

monjure's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Colonisation, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Suicide

bealmg's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

This novel tells the story of Okonkwo, a respected warrior in his village ofr his strength and tenacity. The best parts of the novel were the last two (the last third of the book), where we see colonialism starting to seep into the nearby villages and, eventually, in Okonkwo's own village. It was such a harrowing and subtle portrayal, because the reader knows, at some level, what will happen to the village and its people. Although the ending surprised me, I thought it made sense in the story. I just wasn't the biggest fan of the writing style (although I liked how Achebe used local proverbs to tell the story) and the few instances of violence against women, which made me feel quite detached from the story and its characters for the majority of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation

Moderate: Violence, Child death, Death, and Sexism

Minor: Slavery

suicide

meganeorcx's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

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

3.0

Disliked the first part of the book. It was interesting learning about Igbo culture but the misogyny was painful and it was hard to connect to the characters. The second and third parts, however, were much more interesting. The struggle with Christianity added a lot more depth to the plot and made me feel more engaged as a reader. The story overall was very masculine and depressing, but the ending was incredible and worth pausing my own perspective for to fully understand its significance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, and Suicide

Minor: Racism

allieos's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Genocide, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, War, Death, Misogyny, Blood, and Domestic abuse

angela_iseli's review against another edition

dark reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, Murder, Xenophobia, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse

mpbookreviews's review against another edition

tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child death, Colonisation, Suicide, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Abandonment, Violence, and Child abuse

ericzwebb's review against another edition

challenging dark funny fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Colonisation, Misogyny, Child death, Murder, and Domestic abuse