Things Fall Apart: A Novel (original 1958; edition 1994)

by Chinua Achebe

Series: African Trilogy (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Conversations / Mentions
21,527	441	212	(3.76)	5 / 1053
First published in 1958, this novel tells the story of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo (Ibo) community who is banished for accidentally killing a clansman. The novel covers the seven years of his exile to his return, providing an inside view of the intrusion of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society in the 1890s.… (more)

▾Book information

Member:	ashleykhall
Title:	Things Fall Apart: A Novel
Authors:	Chinua Achebe
Info:	Anchor (1994), Paperback, 224 pages
Collections:	Your library
Rating:
Tags:	None

Work Information

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (1958)

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▾Will you like it?

▾Conversations (About links)

Group › Topic	Messages	Last Message
Geeks who love the Classics: Things Fall Apart Chapters 18-25/END	12 unread / 12	librorumamans, February 2022
Geeks who love the Classics: Things Fall Apart Chapters 9-17	28 unread / 28	raton-liseur, February 2022
Geeks who love the Classics: Things Fall Apart Chapters 1-8	27 unread / 27	Majel-Susan, January 2022
Geeks who love the Classics: Things Fall Apart Jan-March 2022 Housekeeping Items	2 unread / 2	Tess_W, January 2022
Monthly Author Reads: November 2020: Chinua Achebe	18 unread / 18	sweetiegherkin, December 2020

» See also 1053 mentions

▾Member reviews

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date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 419 (next | show all)

Enjoyed this immensely. (

)

sue.vize | Jan 7, 2025 |

Insightful read. You feel for a lot of the characters like Okonkwo and while you may reject his actions, you sympathize with his intention. A proud man that wanted to keep to his roots and not separate from his ancestors, even when the battle may be deemed futile. (

)

takezx | Dec 26, 2024 |

This has been on my to-read list since I heard about the authors death two years ago at the age of 82.
An interesting presentation of the life of an indigenous clan in Africa, village life, and the subsequent clash of the villages and clan structure with outside influences... European colonial government officials and Christian missionaries.
At times I felt this was deserving of 4 stars, and other times only 2. Maybe I don't know enough about the history of European colonialism and the negative effects that era had on the peoples of the continent.
Maybe I need to learn more... (

)

Craig_Evans | Nov 20, 2024 |

“Connections” include Yeats “The Second Coming”, interview by Sonia Sanchez with Achebe, Chief Seattle “The Indian’s Night Promises to be Dark”, a short biography of the author, old sayings d ancient wisdom.

VillageProject | Nov 19, 2024 |

A searing and powerful classic I've taught several times. (

)

jmgiles | Nov 15, 2024 |

date ▼ | votes

Showing 1-5 of 419 (next | show all)

▾Published reviews

2 reviews

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thingScore 100

Set in the late 19th century, at the height of the "Scramble" for African territories by the great European powers, Things Fall Apart tells the story of Okonkwo, a proud and highly respected Igbo from Umuofia, somewhere near the Lower Niger. Okonkwo's clan are farmers, their complex society a patriarchal, democratic one. Achebe suggests that village life has not changed substantially in generations.

The first part of a trilogy, Things Fall Apart was one of the first African novels to gain worldwide recognition: half a century on, it remains one of the great novels about the colonial era.

added by kidzdoc | editThe Observer, 2010-01-31

[Achebe] describes the many idyllic features of pre-Christian native life with poetry and humor. But his real achievement is his ability to see the strengths and weaknesses of his characters with a true novelist's compassion.

added by Shortride | editThe New York Times Book Review, Selden Rodman (pay site) (Feb 22, 1959)

▾Other authors

» Add other authors (62 possible)

Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Achebe, Chinua	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Appiah, Kwame Anthony	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Bandele, Biyi	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Dicker, Jaap	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Dicker, Jan	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
James, Peter Francis	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Okeke, Uche	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Puigtobella, Bernat	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Rodriguez, Edel	Cover artist	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Serraillier, Ian	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Vertaalgroep Administratief Centrum Bergeyk	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Werk, Jan Kees van de	Afterword	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Series and work relationships

Belongs to Series

African Trilogy (1)

Belongs to Publisher Series

African Writers (1)

bb-Taschenbücher (Aufbau-Verlag) (345)

Everyman's Library New Series (135)

Fawcett Crest Books (20810-9)

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Is contained in

Things Fall Apart / No Longer At Ease / Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Volume 2 {generic} by M. H. Abrams

The Norton Anthology of World Literature (Shorter Second Edition) (Vol. 2) by Sarah Lawall Ph.D.

Things Fall Apart / Their Eyes Were Watching God / Half of a Yellow Sun by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart : No Longer At Ease : Anthills of the Savannah (Voices of the African Diaspora) by Chinua Achebe

Is a reply to

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Has as a reference guide/companion

A Reader's Guide to Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Multicultural Literature) by George Shea

Has as a study

Colonialism in Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart by Louise Hawker

Has as a commentary on the text

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations) by Harold Bloom

Has as a student's study guide

CliffsNotes on Achebe's Things Fall Apart by John Chua

Spark Notes Things Fall Apart by Selena Ward

York Notes on Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart by T.A. Dunn

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Monarch Notes) by Steven H Gale

(show 3 more)

A Study Guide for Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" by Diane Telgen

Things fall apart--Chinua Achebe (Books in focus) by Gerald Moore

Things Fall Apart: Shmoop Literature Guide by Shmoop

Has as a teacher's guide

Approaches to Teaching Achebe's Things Fall Apart (Approaches to Teaching World Literature) by Bernth Lindfors

Things Fall Apart by Novel Units

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▾Common Knowledge

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Canonical title

Original title

Things Fall Apart

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Original publication date

People/Characters

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Important events

Related movies

Things Fall Apart (1971 | IMDb)

Things Fall Apart (1987 | IMDb)

Epigraph

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

—W.B. Yeats, "The Second Coming"

Dedication

First words

Okonkwo was well-known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honour to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat.

Quotations

The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers, and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.

There is no story that is not true.

The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others.

If I hold her hand she says, Don't Touch!. If I hold her foot she says Don't Touch! But when I hold her waist-beads she pretends not to know.

A man who calls his kinsmen to a feast does not do so to save them from starving. They all have food in their own homes. When we gather together in the moonlit village ground it is not because of the moon. Every man can see it in his own compound. We come together because it is good for kinsmen to do so.

(show all 6 items)

Last words

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Disambiguation notice

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Original language

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▾References

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Wikipedia in English

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▾Book descriptions

First published in 1958, this novel tells the story of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo (Ibo) community who is banished for accidentally killing a clansman. The novel covers the seven years of his exile to his return, providing an inside view of the intrusion of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society in the 1890s.

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▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

More than two million copies of Things Fall Apart have been sold in the United States since it was first published here in 1959. Worldwide, there are eight million copies in print in fifty different languages. This is Chinua Achebe's masterpiece and it is often compared to the great Greek tragedies, and currently sells more than one hundred thousand copies a year in the United States.
A simple story of a "strong man" whose life is dominated by fear and anger, Things Fall Apart is written with remarkable economy and subtle irony. Uniquely and richly African, at the same time it reveals Achebe's keen awareness of the human qualities common to men of all times and places.

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