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A review by eehancock
No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
4.0
So apparently I've been reading books I should have read in high school. This is the sequel to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart which I read in high school. I have to admit, I had to skim through online reviews of Things Fall Apart because I couldn't remember how it ends.
You don't actually need to have read Things Fall Apart to understand what's going on in No Longer at Ease. It begins with a trial of a young Nigerian man, Obi Okonkwo, who has been accused of taking a bribe. Then it goes back and tells Obi Okonkwo's story from when he is a high-achieving student in his small, community-oriented village who is chosen to receive a scholarship to study in England. It follows him as he decides to study English rather than Law and when he falls in love with a beautiful, young woman who turns out to be an osu--historically, an outcast by descent. He is the first person from his village to have a senior management position with the Nigerian government. Because of poor financial management, he begins spending more money than he earns even though he makes more in one month than most Nigerians earn in a year. Between this and some of the personal/ recreational choices he makes isolates him from those from his past life.
He eventually, again, due to poor financial decisions begins taking bribes to pay off his debts and to support his lifestyle. One day, he takes a bet from a man that turns out to be a set-up. He is arrested, tried, and found guilty. Nonetheless, through the trial, his "kins people" support him.
It was a quick read and interesting to see how Christianity was still being reconciled with traditional Nigerian values. And, as always, it was reaffirming to see that money and power do not actually translate into happiness and simplicity.
You don't actually need to have read Things Fall Apart to understand what's going on in No Longer at Ease. It begins with a trial of a young Nigerian man, Obi Okonkwo, who has been accused of taking a bribe. Then it goes back and tells Obi Okonkwo's story from when he is a high-achieving student in his small, community-oriented village who is chosen to receive a scholarship to study in England. It follows him as he decides to study English rather than Law and when he falls in love with a beautiful, young woman who turns out to be an osu--historically, an outcast by descent. He is the first person from his village to have a senior management position with the Nigerian government. Because of poor financial management, he begins spending more money than he earns even though he makes more in one month than most Nigerians earn in a year. Between this and some of the personal/ recreational choices he makes isolates him from those from his past life.
He eventually, again, due to poor financial decisions begins taking bribes to pay off his debts and to support his lifestyle. One day, he takes a bet from a man that turns out to be a set-up. He is arrested, tried, and found guilty. Nonetheless, through the trial, his "kins people" support him.
It was a quick read and interesting to see how Christianity was still being reconciled with traditional Nigerian values. And, as always, it was reaffirming to see that money and power do not actually translate into happiness and simplicity.