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tien 's review for:
The African Trilogy
by Chinua Achebe
This trilogy is told from different perspective and in slight different time settings though all three dealt with the struggle of the African tribal cultures and the coming of white men. In the first book, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo had risen above and beyond his father’s reputation. He became a Strong man and yet in the end, was helpless in his fight for the old ways. The second book, No Longer At East, Okonkwo’s grandson was brought up in a Christian home and was sent to learn the ways of white men. Despite his education, he still managed to disappoint his family and villagers and tumbled from grace. The last book, Arrow of God, was told from the perspective of a Chief Priest in a separate village and yet even he fell in the end.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.