Things fall apart

First time I came across an African writer. I initially wondered if I should even read the book. It was lying there in the corner of my room until one day I felt extremely bored and ended up reading this classic. It is the novel taught in every school in Africa - 'Things fall apart' by Chinua Achebe (Nigerian) written in English in the year 1958.

You may be prejudiced or a racist to not pick this up but you will definitely regret being so if you read it. It is slow but beautiful. There are customs and traditions which we can't understand but the core of the story captivates us and that is more important.

Okonkwo is the protagonist. The sense of power, the status he had in his earlier days and how he lost everything right from the son who came for him till his own life and reputation. True to the title everything fell apart and though Okonkwo, unlike his dad, was a hard worker and a person who cared for people and valued his tradition, ended up with nothing at all.

The first wave of pain in our hearts would be caused when Ikemefuna (Okonkwo's son) was dead (killed). The child's innocence, trust and expectation could be pictured while reading Chinua's words. The condition of women, the lifestyle of the people, the impact whites created by entering African villages in their tradition and religion was beautifully explained.

'Things Fall Apart' - A novel forced to be written in a foreign tongue (English) but ended up to be a token and an inspiration which should be preserved for Africa - Definitely a classic.

Score: 4.3/5