MR (I) No Longer at Ease

by John Milne, Chinua Achebe

Obi Okonkwo is an idealistic young man who, thanks to the privileges of an education in Britain, has now returned to Nigeria for a job in the civil service. However in his new role he finds that the way of government seems to be backhanders and corruption. Obi manages to resist the bribes that are offered to him, but when he falls in love with an unsuitable girl - to the disapproval of his parents - he sinks further into emotional and financial turmoil. The lure of easy money becomes harder to refuse, and Obi becomes caught in a trap he cannot escape. Showing a man lost in cultural limbo, and a Nigeria entering a new age of disillusionment, "No Longer at Ease" concludes Achebe's remarkable trilogy charting three generations of an African community under the impact of colonialism, the first two volumes of which are "Things Fall Apart" and "Arrow of God".

Genres: Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

First published May 17, 2005

About the author

John Milne was born in London in 1952. His many TV screenwriting credits include: Bergerac, East Enders, Lovejoy, The Bill, Boon, Taggart, Wycliffe and Silent Witness (for which he won an Edgar). He lives in Essex.

Series:
* Jimmy Jenner

Reviews

[books.bintulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

No Longer At Ease

My first attempt to read Chinua Achebe's works, even though it’s a guided version. I learned that this novel is part of a trilogy.

Obi just graduated and wanted to bring changes but lacked wisdom and perhaps financial literacy? He has an ambition: to stop bribery in the civil service but at the same time ignores traditional beliefs, even his parents' advice and love blinds him.

I enjoy reading the setting of the story. Obi's character is something to ponder upon. We were once young, eager and made miskates. I'm mad reading how he managed his money.

It makes me wonder how many sacrifices, hurt and damage were made to have the changes we're living in today. Has anyone read it? Is there any explicit content in the original version?

[Justine Oh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my O'Levels literate text. The story description is from Amazon.


'When Obi Okonkwo, grandson of Okonkwo, the main character in Things Fall Apart returns to Nigeria from England in the 1950s, his foreign education separates him from his African roots. No Longer at Ease, the third and concluding novel in Chinua Achebe’s The African Trilogy, depicts the uncertainties that beset the nation of Nigeria, as independence from colonial rule loomed near. In Obi Okonkwo’s experiences, the ambiguities, pitfalls, and temptations of a rapidly evolving society are revealed. He is part of a ruling Nigerian elite whose corruption he finds repugnant. His fate, however, overtakes him as he finds himself trapped between the expectation of his family, his village—both representations of the traditional world of his ancestors—and the colonial world.  A story of a man lost in cultural limbo, and a nation entering a new age of disillusionment, No Longer at Ease is a powerful metaphor for his generation of young Nigerians.'

[John Oswald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tragic, intense pressure-cooker of a tale, the third in Achebe’s trilogy. Throughout the trilogy we’ve lived through three generations of life in Nigeria under British colonial rule. It’s gone from distant rumblings to full scale societal transformation. In this story, Obi Okonkwo returns from his studies in England, paid for by the hard work of his Ibo community, to a life in the civil service. Disillusioned by backhanders and offers of bribes, he eventually succumbs through sheer pressure to live the life he’s now expected to live but which he has neither the means nor the guidance to keep up. It’s a bleak unravelling of a beautiful society we’ve come to know through the first two books. There are many more (and better) analyses of Achebe’s work, so if all I do is encourage someone else to read it, then job done. You won’t regret it - these books aren’t just important but they’re brilliantly written and teach us (in our post colonial times) what once existed….. #guehennoreads #booksofinstagram #booksof2021 #chinuaachebe

[Jaylin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to read this for a class that I'm taking and this book was actually really great. It was a quick read (compared to the dense and long books we have read in this class) and it was very different from the other books we've read. Was able to get this book finished mostly in one sitting without having to actually push myself to read!

[Ed Stoddard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I long ago read the previous two novels of this superb trilogy. Nigeria at a cross-roads ahead of independence, and a man caught between two worlds. A cracking read full of humour and tragedy and sparse yet vivid prose by a master novelist. A perfect read on a dark and stormy weekend ...

[Sharpson]

No longer to

[Ema · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Obi should not go back to Nigeria. There's no future but poverty. He can still send money to his village from England.

Now, what does he done?