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A review by ashleymg99
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a book that I somehow missed reading this in my high school English curriculum. I decided to finally pick it up for the StoryGraph read the world challenge, and because one of my friends said this was their favorite book.
I can’t recommend the Crash Course video on this book enough- after reading it, it enhanced my understanding of text and provided a lot of additional context, that I will summarize below:
Chinua Achebe was uniquely positioned to tell this story because of his background. With a father who was an evangelical Christian and extended family that was part of traditional Igbo culture - he offers a criticism of European colonialism that neither demonizes nor exhalts either culture. It’s a wonderful first-hand account of the customs of the Igbo people, and an amazing edition to my read the world challenge!
I can’t recommend the Crash Course video on this book enough- after reading it, it enhanced my understanding of text and provided a lot of additional context, that I will summarize below:
Chinua Achebe was uniquely positioned to tell this story because of his background. With a father who was an evangelical Christian and extended family that was part of traditional Igbo culture - he offers a criticism of European colonialism that neither demonizes nor exhalts either culture. It’s a wonderful first-hand account of the customs of the Igbo people, and an amazing edition to my read the world challenge!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Murder, Violence, and Suicide