Things Fall Apart
Decide its fate
The record
Time
An eveningA season192 pages, about 4 hours: two-thirds the length of a typical book on the shelf.
Getting in
Walk right inSteep climbThree readers report a slow or repetitive opening, lasting through the first half before the missionaries arrive.
What it gives
Plot and actionIdeas to live byIn 13 reviews from critics and book blogs, 2 credit the plot and 11 credit the ideas or a change in how they live.
One of a kind
Others do thisNothing else doesTwo reviewers read it against Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which Achebe criticized as racist.
The case for it
on Ekwefi’s spirit
“the spirit of his second wife Ekwefi, who had a mind of her own”
a book blog on the prose
“Achebe’s writing is lyrical, poetic, descriptive, emotional, but also spare and pointed.”
four stars · a book blog on Igbo culture
“a first major eye opener about the Igbo people”
a book blog on Okonkwo’s journey
“sucked into the world of Umuofia, and felt like I was witnessing Okonkwo’s journey”
five stars · a book blog
The case against
on the opening chapters
“the chapters drone on about various happenings, disputes, weather events, and rituals”
a book blog on the first half
“I really struggled for at least half of this quite short book”
four stars · a book blog on connecting with Okonkwo
“I didn’t fully connect with Okonkwo all the time”
four stars · a book blog on the character names
“the multitude of names may be daunting at first”
a book blog
