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A review by willowbiblio
No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"She was a very devout woman, but Obi used to wonder whether, left to herself, she would not have preferred telling her children the folk stories that her mother had told her. In fact, she used to tell her eldest daughters stories. But that was before Obi was born. She stopped because her husband forbade her to do so."
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This was such a powerful and heartbreaking way to close a story that spanned three generations. We open with the understanding that Obi Okonkwo has gotten caught taking bribes, and the novel helps answer the question asked at the beginning and end: Why?
The celebrations in Umuofia were wholesome, community affairs. We see this juxtaposed against celebrations in Laos as sort of sad, rundown, with neon signs, and artifice. We know from the first two books that Nigerian culture prior to colonization was based on honesty, loyalty, family, community, and spirituality. The idea that Nigerians (and Africans in general) are corrupt is propaganda that even the 3rd post-colonial generation believes.
Telling and singing stories together was how the clan learned history, values, morals, identity, etc. Forbidding this is one of the best ways to further eradicate culture, bonds, and identity. The whites successfully convinced the Nigerians to censor themselves, as shown with Obi's mother and father. Additionally, the Nigerians began to mimic and adopt the ever-present racism.
Despite being paid so much more and being "better educated", Obi's financial struggles fulfilled the warning from the President of the Umuofia club. Really good use of foreshadowing with that.
I thought it was interesting that Achebe was sort of self-referential when he talked about the suicide ending as not true tragedy- regarding Okonkwo senior's end.
It was also clear throughout that for the Europeans/English any system of self-governance basically didn't exist prior to them. This intentional ignorance helped them to justify a continued presence and subjugation.
Excellent trilogy, so glad I read it in it's entirety!
----------------------------
This was such a powerful and heartbreaking way to close a story that spanned three generations. We open with the understanding that Obi Okonkwo has gotten caught taking bribes, and the novel helps answer the question asked at the beginning and end: Why?
The celebrations in Umuofia were wholesome, community affairs. We see this juxtaposed against celebrations in Laos as sort of sad, rundown, with neon signs, and artifice. We know from the first two books that Nigerian culture prior to colonization was based on honesty, loyalty, family, community, and spirituality. The idea that Nigerians (and Africans in general) are corrupt is propaganda that even the 3rd post-colonial generation believes.
Telling and singing stories together was how the clan learned history, values, morals, identity, etc. Forbidding this is one of the best ways to further eradicate culture, bonds, and identity. The whites successfully convinced the Nigerians to censor themselves, as shown with Obi's mother and father. Additionally, the Nigerians began to mimic and adopt the ever-present racism.
Despite being paid so much more and being "better educated", Obi's financial struggles fulfilled the warning from the President of the Umuofia club. Really good use of foreshadowing with that.
I thought it was interesting that Achebe was sort of self-referential when he talked about the suicide ending as not true tragedy- regarding Okonkwo senior's end.
It was also clear throughout that for the Europeans/English any system of self-governance basically didn't exist prior to them. This intentional ignorance helped them to justify a continued presence and subjugation.
Excellent trilogy, so glad I read it in it's entirety!