Scan barcode
A review by zoya_neela
The African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart / Arrow of God / No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
2.0
This was my least favourite of the three books, and part of that was that Obi's head was not a pleasant place to be. What was going on in Clara's head, or any of the multiple women that Obi was socializing with? In "Arrow" the POA of the narrator changed, and that was part of the appeal. Achebe told the story from multiple perspectives. Here is was just Obi.
Several times I thought there was foreshadowing about certain events, but no reference is made about this later in the story. The story starts with a court case, so it's just a matter of sticking with the story to find out how Obi ended up there.
Obi attempted to walk a line and even found a way to justify what he was doing. It must have been a confusing time, attempting to balance tradition with a changing world. I believe this particular story was set in the late 1950's, at which time Nigeria was contending with independence from their colonial masters. The blatant racism and disrespect of the colonial officers to their Nigerian counterparts was upsetting, and for many of us we live with this on a daily basis. How is it that 70+ years has changed so little?
What will be my next Achebe book?
Several times I thought there was foreshadowing about certain events, but no reference is made about this later in the story. The story starts with a court case, so it's just a matter of sticking with the story to find out how Obi ended up there.
Obi attempted to walk a line and even found a way to justify what he was doing. It must have been a confusing time, attempting to balance tradition with a changing world. I believe this particular story was set in the late 1950's, at which time Nigeria was contending with independence from their colonial masters. The blatant racism and disrespect of the colonial officers to their Nigerian counterparts was upsetting, and for many of us we live with this on a daily basis. How is it that 70+ years has changed so little?
What will be my next Achebe book?