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The African Trilogy #1-3
Trilogía africana
Todo se desmorona, la novela africana más leída de todos los tiempos, redefinió no sólo la literatura africana sino la literatura mundial. Esta cruda e impactante parábola sobre un hombre fuerte y orgulloso, pero incapaz de evitar la colonización y consiguiente ruina de su pueblo en Nigeria, inaugura la legendaria Trilogía africana de este gran autor, quien supo retratar como nadie la tragedia y el destino del pueblo africano.
Publicadas por primera vez en español en un solo volumen, estas tres novelas nos cuentan, con extraordinaria lucidez y precisión, una historia universal de lucha moral en un mundo que cambia a un ritmo vertiginoso. Una historia que sigue resonando en África y que ha capturado la imaginación de millones de lectores alrededor del mundo.
Publicadas por primera vez en español en un solo volumen, estas tres novelas nos cuentan, con extraordinaria lucidez y precisión, una historia universal de lucha moral en un mundo que cambia a un ritmo vertiginoso. Una historia que sigue resonando en África y que ha capturado la imaginación de millones de lectores alrededor del mundo.
704 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 1988
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5340 people want to read
About the author
Chinua Achebe
169 books4,219 followersWorks, including the novel
Things Fall Apart
(1958), of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe describe traditional African life in conflict with colonial rule and westernization.
This poet and critic served as professor at Brown University. People best know and most widely read his first book in modern African literature.
Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria reared Achebe, who excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. World religions and traditional African cultures fascinated him, who began stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian broadcasting service and quickly moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe defended the use of English, a "language of colonizers," in African literature. In 1975, controversy focused on his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist."
When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe, a devoted supporter of independence, served as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved in political parties but witnessed the corruption and elitism that duly frustration him, who quickly resigned. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and after a car accident left him partially disabled, he returned to the United States in 1990.
Novels of Achebe focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. He served as the David and Marianna Fisher university professor of Africana studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
ollowing a brief illness, Achebe died.
This poet and critic served as professor at Brown University. People best know and most widely read his first book in modern African literature.
Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria reared Achebe, who excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. World religions and traditional African cultures fascinated him, who began stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian broadcasting service and quickly moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe defended the use of English, a "language of colonizers," in African literature. In 1975, controversy focused on his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist."
When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe, a devoted supporter of independence, served as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved in political parties but witnessed the corruption and elitism that duly frustration him, who quickly resigned. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and after a car accident left him partially disabled, he returned to the United States in 1990.
Novels of Achebe focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. He served as the David and Marianna Fisher university professor of Africana studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
ollowing a brief illness, Achebe died.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
October 6, 2018
Star rating refers only to Things Fall Apart.
Things Fall Apart - Okonkwo is an emotionally stilted African tribesman. He beats his wives, confounds (and beats) his children, has taken human skulls in intertribal warfare. He has what we in the West would call massive gender hangups. Every act of his life is about reaffirming his manliness and shunning womanliness. He has no feminine side. He has no education. He is inarticulate. He is a brute. Achebe gives us a look at a world completely outside the bounds of the reader's experience. In this world there is nothing but the clan. There is no police authority, no government, no tax agency, and so on. Important decisions are made by the clansmen collectively, with certain more highly ranking individuals having a disproportionate say in what is to be done. For example, when a clanswoman is killed in another village, it is decided that unless the other village wants war it must provide a young virgin (given to the man who lost his wife), and a young man. This young man, Ikemefuna, is taken by Okonkwo into his compound until the tribe determines what is to become of him. He is a bright young man. The entire household comes to value him. For Okonkwo's elder son, Nwoye, Ikemefuna becomes a valued older brother. Even the vindictive Okonkwo comes to like the boy. He spends three years in Okonkwo's house. Then it is determined by tribal authority that he must be killed. He is, what, 17? He is taken deep into the forest by the clansmen and cut down with machetes. He calls to Okonkwo in his death throes: "My father, they are killing me." Okonkwo, who has so far hung in the back of the crowd, runs up, unsheathes his own machete and joins in the slaughter. The primitive logic here being that someone had to die to avenge the dead woman, and a young man is of greater value than a woman. Women, in fact, are chattel in this culture. The clan's "rules" can be appalling. Twins are considered evil and are routinely killed, left to die of exposure in what is known as the Evil Forest. Child mortality is very high. To deal with the trauma of child mortality the clan has developed a myth: It is believed that some women whose children repeatedly die are in fact bearing what is known as ogbanje. The glossary in the back of this edition defines an ogbanje as "a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn." When the child dies, if it is suspected of being an ogbanje, the tribal shaman multilates its body before tossing it into the Evil Forest. If the woman later bears a child with the same mutilations then the suspicion of the ogbanje is confirmed. So, massive is the ignorance here that it takes the breath away. There is universal inarticulateness, and no form of written language. People act out in the most appalling way. The reader does come to think of the Igbo here as a primitive and bestial people. But then the white man comes. And the white man, the colonizer, British in this case, brings with him his religion, his government, his law and most notably his readiness to condemn the clan cosmogony as pure evil, a product of the devil. The Brits waste little time instilling their superior thought in the clansmen. The reader is torn. Are the tribespeople better off losing their indigenous culture to imperialist usurpers? That would certainly mean less disease for them, reduced infant mortality, an increased rational understanding of certain natural phenonmena they would otherwise mythologize. It's clear there's much to be gained from the white man. But in the end the tribespeople can't pick and choose. They have Western culture thrust down their throats. It is, in the end, what amounts to a wholesale cultural annihilation of the Igbo by the whites. The Igbo try to strike back by burning down the Christian church. This reader found this scene a wonderful moment of the old tribal resolve reasserting itself. But Okonkwo and the men who do it are arrested by the colonizers. They are jailed. During their incarceration they are beaten, starved, not treated with the respect their tribal status warrants. They are released only when the tribe pays a ransom. The next morning they meet to decide what is to be done. During the meeting, five of the white man's native (and pusillanimous) clerks arrive to tell the Igbo that they must break up their meeting. In his frustration Okonkwo lashes out and kills a clerk. But his clansmen do not respond by killing the other four clerks, who escape. I don't want to reveal the end. Suffice it to say though that Okonkwo, in an act of desperation, undertakes an act that is the negation of all he has ever believed in and stood for, no matter how problematic that might be viewed. It's a devastating moment driving home some of the points earlier expressed here. The book is gripping. It carries the reader along with a seeming effortlessness and never lags. It's a beautiful book and perhaps a great one.
Things Fall Apart - Okonkwo is an emotionally stilted African tribesman. He beats his wives, confounds (and beats) his children, has taken human skulls in intertribal warfare. He has what we in the West would call massive gender hangups. Every act of his life is about reaffirming his manliness and shunning womanliness. He has no feminine side. He has no education. He is inarticulate. He is a brute. Achebe gives us a look at a world completely outside the bounds of the reader's experience. In this world there is nothing but the clan. There is no police authority, no government, no tax agency, and so on. Important decisions are made by the clansmen collectively, with certain more highly ranking individuals having a disproportionate say in what is to be done. For example, when a clanswoman is killed in another village, it is decided that unless the other village wants war it must provide a young virgin (given to the man who lost his wife), and a young man. This young man, Ikemefuna, is taken by Okonkwo into his compound until the tribe determines what is to become of him. He is a bright young man. The entire household comes to value him. For Okonkwo's elder son, Nwoye, Ikemefuna becomes a valued older brother. Even the vindictive Okonkwo comes to like the boy. He spends three years in Okonkwo's house. Then it is determined by tribal authority that he must be killed. He is, what, 17? He is taken deep into the forest by the clansmen and cut down with machetes. He calls to Okonkwo in his death throes: "My father, they are killing me." Okonkwo, who has so far hung in the back of the crowd, runs up, unsheathes his own machete and joins in the slaughter. The primitive logic here being that someone had to die to avenge the dead woman, and a young man is of greater value than a woman. Women, in fact, are chattel in this culture. The clan's "rules" can be appalling. Twins are considered evil and are routinely killed, left to die of exposure in what is known as the Evil Forest. Child mortality is very high. To deal with the trauma of child mortality the clan has developed a myth: It is believed that some women whose children repeatedly die are in fact bearing what is known as ogbanje. The glossary in the back of this edition defines an ogbanje as "a changeling; a child who repeatedly dies and returns to its mother to be reborn." When the child dies, if it is suspected of being an ogbanje, the tribal shaman multilates its body before tossing it into the Evil Forest. If the woman later bears a child with the same mutilations then the suspicion of the ogbanje is confirmed. So, massive is the ignorance here that it takes the breath away. There is universal inarticulateness, and no form of written language. People act out in the most appalling way. The reader does come to think of the Igbo here as a primitive and bestial people. But then the white man comes. And the white man, the colonizer, British in this case, brings with him his religion, his government, his law and most notably his readiness to condemn the clan cosmogony as pure evil, a product of the devil. The Brits waste little time instilling their superior thought in the clansmen. The reader is torn. Are the tribespeople better off losing their indigenous culture to imperialist usurpers? That would certainly mean less disease for them, reduced infant mortality, an increased rational understanding of certain natural phenonmena they would otherwise mythologize. It's clear there's much to be gained from the white man. But in the end the tribespeople can't pick and choose. They have Western culture thrust down their throats. It is, in the end, what amounts to a wholesale cultural annihilation of the Igbo by the whites. The Igbo try to strike back by burning down the Christian church. This reader found this scene a wonderful moment of the old tribal resolve reasserting itself. But Okonkwo and the men who do it are arrested by the colonizers. They are jailed. During their incarceration they are beaten, starved, not treated with the respect their tribal status warrants. They are released only when the tribe pays a ransom. The next morning they meet to decide what is to be done. During the meeting, five of the white man's native (and pusillanimous) clerks arrive to tell the Igbo that they must break up their meeting. In his frustration Okonkwo lashes out and kills a clerk. But his clansmen do not respond by killing the other four clerks, who escape. I don't want to reveal the end. Suffice it to say though that Okonkwo, in an act of desperation, undertakes an act that is the negation of all he has ever believed in and stood for, no matter how problematic that might be viewed. It's a devastating moment driving home some of the points earlier expressed here. The book is gripping. It carries the reader along with a seeming effortlessness and never lags. It's a beautiful book and perhaps a great one.
September 19, 2020
Well, what can I say? The African Trilogy is a must-read for everyone who is interested in African literature as a whole. In the 1950s, Chinua Achebe, among other writers of his generation, really put African literature on the map. In his so-called African Trilogy he recounts the history of his people (the Igbo people of Nigeria) from the pre-colonial time, over the arrival of the Europeans during the late 19th century and the effects of colonialism on his home country, to the ultimate struggle for independence in the 1960s.
ARROW OF GOD - 2 stars - (review)
NO LONGER AT EASE - 4,5 stars - (review)
The African Trilogy is a real tour de force and an important piece of literary history that no reader should be missing out on. Until this day, Things Fall Apart is the most successful book coming from an African writer (it sold over 20 million copies around the world and was translated into 57 (!) languages.) Go get your hands on it!
“I have travelled in Olu and I have travelled in Igbo, and I can tell you that there is no escape from he white man. He has come. ”THINGS FALL APART - 3,5 stars - (review)
ARROW OF GOD - 2 stars - (review)
NO LONGER AT EASE - 4,5 stars - (review)
The African Trilogy is a real tour de force and an important piece of literary history that no reader should be missing out on. Until this day, Things Fall Apart is the most successful book coming from an African writer (it sold over 20 million copies around the world and was translated into 57 (!) languages.) Go get your hands on it!
December 13, 2019
THINGS FALL APART
I have always had intense admiration for writers who, through their journalistic way of writing, give a lot to think about. Chinua Achebe has taken this admiration to another height. He is easy to read, but difficult to access. He stated things as plainly as he could and leaves the burden of making out the undertones on his readers. To be honest, he leaves a lot on his readers.
Things Fall Apart begins with the protagonist and the reminiscences of his father. Okonkwo is not in awe with his father's way of living and he carves out his own destiny. He is not one of those protagonists who, at first, made a place in my heart. It wasn't until Roshan rightfully pointed out the reason of his actions being that he was the member of a clan that I finally started taking his course of action in.
I had been too carried away in the beginning because I wanted to know if the misogynistic narration of the novel is in anyway related to the author. I try to keep the artist away from his/her work as far as possible. But I had recently read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Introduction to The African Trilogy and what I had been thinking about Joseph Conrad being a racist came back to me yet again. Adichie, recapitulating Achebe's "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", wrote, "[Conrad] had failed to hold an authorial rejection of that world-view [the racism of the time]".
Throughout the work, I was trying to find if Okonkwo's misogyny has an "authorial rejection" and I am glad that I found, at least that's what I think. It was through Uchendu, Okonkwo's mother's younger brother, that Achebe had pacified the fire of supposed misogyny that was seething in me. He said,
"It's true that a child belongs to his father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his father-land when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme."
Things Fall Apart is an important text. It is not meant just for a light reading, but also for going through its depth and exploring it even in its remotest corner.
NO LONGER AT EASE
How far can one move from her/his place of birth? The journey back home, if undertaken, can it be similar to what it was before? Is the change nominal? Exactly who has changed in the absence - is it the home or is it the person? These are but a few questions that No Longer At Ease (1960) by Chinua Achebe made me ponder upon.
Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo of Achebe's debut novel Things Fall Apart (1958), comes back from England as the first person in his village, Umuofia, to have finished his studies abroad with the 'scholarship'. The expense of Obi's education was borne by Umuofia Progressive Union which was formed by the Umuofians who were abroad "with the aim of collecting money to send some of their brighter young men to study in England". Obi gets a "'European post' in the civil service" and his monthly expenditure, among other things, includes paying back the 'scholarship', sending money home for his family as well as for paying the fees of his brother and the monthly installments of the car he has bought.
In the novel, Obi faces a similar tussle like his grandfather. Torn between the image of his home before he went to England and the merciless reality after homecoming, Obi is no longer at ease. As a person whose father had accepted Christianity and who has returned from England after finishing his studies, he finds disparities with the people around him and is ill at ease with them. The Britishers chide him for everything that the Nigerians do wrong — even if the wrong was first spread by them — and he has his differences with the people of his village. In a world that is breaking apart with the tug of war of independence, just like his grandfather, Obi finds himself alone.
Achebe's journalistic writing continues in this novel and as an omniscient narrator, he portrayed a representation of the conflict. The most striking aspect of the author's language is his sparse, rigid and journalistic writing style. These are the same characteristics that take away the pleasure I find in reading. In a way, it is justifiable. Things are falling apart and one is not expected to find delight in it.
ARROW OF GOD
I submitted and successfully defended my MA dissertation on Wednesday. One of the questions that was asked and that has stayed with me is this - Do you think the British administrators were innocent? I explained how they were not innocent at all. It is only after I have finished reading 'Arrow of God' (1964) by Chinua Achebe that I am realising that the British administrators were not just not innocent because they enforced their rules in a society which has a completely different set of rules: they were not innocent also because they did not wait to figure out if they had any system at all.
'Arrow of God' revolves around Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of six villages of Umuaro. The novel begins, as Adichie writes in her Introduction to 'The African Trilogy', like Greek tragedies. An important event has occurred and as the novel progresses, what follows is a consequence of it. Like 'Things Falll Apart' (1958) and 'No Longer At Ease' (1960), it weaves an African perspective of an African world; if I leave my colonialist insight, it is a representation of Igbo world through Igbo eyes. Igbo practices eluded me at most of the places as I, needless to say, am not familiar with them. This made my reading drab and dull but it also made me realise the different layers that this novel has hidden within itself.
I am not claiming to understand its depth. I am sure that even after numerous re-readings, I will not be able to unravel its complexity. Difficult books are very tricky: they either attract readers or they repel them. This book would have repelled me had I not been persistent. I might be able to talk more about it probably after a re-read, but I think one needs to read Achebe even though one has a million reasons not to.
I have always had intense admiration for writers who, through their journalistic way of writing, give a lot to think about. Chinua Achebe has taken this admiration to another height. He is easy to read, but difficult to access. He stated things as plainly as he could and leaves the burden of making out the undertones on his readers. To be honest, he leaves a lot on his readers.
Things Fall Apart begins with the protagonist and the reminiscences of his father. Okonkwo is not in awe with his father's way of living and he carves out his own destiny. He is not one of those protagonists who, at first, made a place in my heart. It wasn't until Roshan rightfully pointed out the reason of his actions being that he was the member of a clan that I finally started taking his course of action in.
I had been too carried away in the beginning because I wanted to know if the misogynistic narration of the novel is in anyway related to the author. I try to keep the artist away from his/her work as far as possible. But I had recently read Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Introduction to The African Trilogy and what I had been thinking about Joseph Conrad being a racist came back to me yet again. Adichie, recapitulating Achebe's "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness", wrote, "[Conrad] had failed to hold an authorial rejection of that world-view [the racism of the time]".
Throughout the work, I was trying to find if Okonkwo's misogyny has an "authorial rejection" and I am glad that I found, at least that's what I think. It was through Uchendu, Okonkwo's mother's younger brother, that Achebe had pacified the fire of supposed misogyny that was seething in me. He said,
"It's true that a child belongs to his father. But when a father beats his child, it seeks sympathy in its mother's hut. A man belongs to his father-land when things are good and life is sweet. But when there is sorrow and bitterness he finds refuge in his motherland. Your mother is there to protect you. She is buried there. And that is why we say mother is supreme."
Things Fall Apart is an important text. It is not meant just for a light reading, but also for going through its depth and exploring it even in its remotest corner.
NO LONGER AT EASE
How far can one move from her/his place of birth? The journey back home, if undertaken, can it be similar to what it was before? Is the change nominal? Exactly who has changed in the absence - is it the home or is it the person? These are but a few questions that No Longer At Ease (1960) by Chinua Achebe made me ponder upon.
Obi Okonkwo, the grandson of Okonkwo of Achebe's debut novel Things Fall Apart (1958), comes back from England as the first person in his village, Umuofia, to have finished his studies abroad with the 'scholarship'. The expense of Obi's education was borne by Umuofia Progressive Union which was formed by the Umuofians who were abroad "with the aim of collecting money to send some of their brighter young men to study in England". Obi gets a "'European post' in the civil service" and his monthly expenditure, among other things, includes paying back the 'scholarship', sending money home for his family as well as for paying the fees of his brother and the monthly installments of the car he has bought.
In the novel, Obi faces a similar tussle like his grandfather. Torn between the image of his home before he went to England and the merciless reality after homecoming, Obi is no longer at ease. As a person whose father had accepted Christianity and who has returned from England after finishing his studies, he finds disparities with the people around him and is ill at ease with them. The Britishers chide him for everything that the Nigerians do wrong — even if the wrong was first spread by them — and he has his differences with the people of his village. In a world that is breaking apart with the tug of war of independence, just like his grandfather, Obi finds himself alone.
Achebe's journalistic writing continues in this novel and as an omniscient narrator, he portrayed a representation of the conflict. The most striking aspect of the author's language is his sparse, rigid and journalistic writing style. These are the same characteristics that take away the pleasure I find in reading. In a way, it is justifiable. Things are falling apart and one is not expected to find delight in it.
ARROW OF GOD
I submitted and successfully defended my MA dissertation on Wednesday. One of the questions that was asked and that has stayed with me is this - Do you think the British administrators were innocent? I explained how they were not innocent at all. It is only after I have finished reading 'Arrow of God' (1964) by Chinua Achebe that I am realising that the British administrators were not just not innocent because they enforced their rules in a society which has a completely different set of rules: they were not innocent also because they did not wait to figure out if they had any system at all.
'Arrow of God' revolves around Ezeulu, the Chief Priest of six villages of Umuaro. The novel begins, as Adichie writes in her Introduction to 'The African Trilogy', like Greek tragedies. An important event has occurred and as the novel progresses, what follows is a consequence of it. Like 'Things Falll Apart' (1958) and 'No Longer At Ease' (1960), it weaves an African perspective of an African world; if I leave my colonialist insight, it is a representation of Igbo world through Igbo eyes. Igbo practices eluded me at most of the places as I, needless to say, am not familiar with them. This made my reading drab and dull but it also made me realise the different layers that this novel has hidden within itself.
I am not claiming to understand its depth. I am sure that even after numerous re-readings, I will not be able to unravel its complexity. Difficult books are very tricky: they either attract readers or they repel them. This book would have repelled me had I not been persistent. I might be able to talk more about it probably after a re-read, but I think one needs to read Achebe even though one has a million reasons not to.
June 28, 2025
I had read Things Fall Apart in high school and liked it a lot, but I never knew or admittedly tried to pursue any of Achebe’s other works. So I never knew about the loosely grouped “trilogy” of novels. And when I saw this edition decades later, I decided this was the perfect way to revisit the original novel I had read while reading more of Achebe’s work.
I was handsomely rewarded. I find most of what I read these days starts to get fuzzy around the six month mark, just because of the volume and my getting older and already poor memory. But I am always happy to find that on the infrequent instances when I reread a novel, no matter how many years ago I initially read it, I ALWAYS start to remember almost everything as I read. So it’s all stored somewhere in there.
And Things Fall Apart was no exception. As I read I once again started to remember the amazing proverb-heavy narrative, and the pride and ferocity of Okonkwo that contributed to his tragic downfall.
And then I was surprised even more by the masterpiece Arrow of God. Ezeulu is easily one of my favorite characters and the most complex that Achebe has created. This was a five star novel that in my opinion exceeded the two others.
But there was a subtle, yet simple power to No Longer at Ease (written second but placed third in this edition) that made Obi’s tragedy in some ways more akin to what I recognize in America as our own historic systemic racism. And it is this simplistic manner of conveying such complexity that Achebe makes look so easy. Reading this trilogy was such a pleasure.
I was handsomely rewarded. I find most of what I read these days starts to get fuzzy around the six month mark, just because of the volume and my getting older and already poor memory. But I am always happy to find that on the infrequent instances when I reread a novel, no matter how many years ago I initially read it, I ALWAYS start to remember almost everything as I read. So it’s all stored somewhere in there.
And Things Fall Apart was no exception. As I read I once again started to remember the amazing proverb-heavy narrative, and the pride and ferocity of Okonkwo that contributed to his tragic downfall.
And then I was surprised even more by the masterpiece Arrow of God. Ezeulu is easily one of my favorite characters and the most complex that Achebe has created. This was a five star novel that in my opinion exceeded the two others.
But there was a subtle, yet simple power to No Longer at Ease (written second but placed third in this edition) that made Obi’s tragedy in some ways more akin to what I recognize in America as our own historic systemic racism. And it is this simplistic manner of conveying such complexity that Achebe makes look so easy. Reading this trilogy was such a pleasure.
July 20, 2017
I only heard of this author when channel 4 news put together an obituary for him. I immediately bought this, his greatest work, and I didn't regret it. The three stories are set in the author's home country of Nigeria, which I have never visited, although I have lived and worked extensively in other parts of Africa (and I had already read Forsyth's Biafra Story). The underlying theme is the 20th century colonial period, and the struggles faced by Africans and British expats alike to come to terms with each other, with each other's religious and other customs, and with the system of colonial administration the authorities in London demand. Unsurprisingly, each story ends in tragedy as the failure to communicate results in an outbreak of violence. Violence that consumes the innocent, for no-one is really guilty - it is the system itself that it impossible. The author was himself caught between the two cultures, as he was educated in England, and knew from his own experience that anyone who attempts to belong to two cultures risks being rejected by both. A fascinating read for anyone interested in Africa, and with British colonial rule.
January 17, 2022
When Worlds Collide
Words written by a true storyweaver, the stories that make up the 'African Trilogy' are fictional representations of a historical, not-so-distant past. Set just one hundred years ago, Chinua Achebe's trilogy winds and unwinds the Nigerian view of European colonialism in the Scramble for Africa. Achebe was a master craftsman of African literature, and his work here has the effect of rebuilding a lost past. The proverbs of the past form the skeleton of this trilogy of stories. He builds upon them to imagine a mindset of the people who lived through the clashing of two continental ways of life. He does this in a way that makes the language accessible to the Anglophone speaker, while maintaining a lyrical prose that holds the reader entranced.
The three books that make up this trilogy were written in 1958, 1962, and 1964. The first book, Things Fall Apart, delves into the insidious, creeping takeover of villages by the Europeans. The second book, Arrow of God, was actually written last, and deals with the shift of power from the local village and priest to that of the Europeans. The last book in chronological sequence, No Longer at Ease has the main character educated in England, and being torn apart both from his village way of life, and internally from his own heart and soul. Achebe is not just writing hit or miss here, but the work forms a solid structure based on how the colonial African was torn from his home, yet remains tied to two worlds.
I enjoyed all three stories, but perhaps the Arrow of God most intensely. Each book has a unique perspective that could not be omitted. And, the book brings the modern reader behind the curtain of Jospeph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It is a trilogy that can be enjoyed by everyone.
I enjoyed this beautiful one-volume set of the entire trilogy in paperback. It seems that it has been available on Audible in the past, but no longer. Maybe that will be made available again soon. It is definitely worth reading multiple times. As a work on the destructive effect of European colonialism, and 'the profound continuities of the pre-colonial past', Achebe's work is a landmark for African history. Most African writers today are impacted by his trilogy.
Words written by a true storyweaver, the stories that make up the 'African Trilogy' are fictional representations of a historical, not-so-distant past. Set just one hundred years ago, Chinua Achebe's trilogy winds and unwinds the Nigerian view of European colonialism in the Scramble for Africa. Achebe was a master craftsman of African literature, and his work here has the effect of rebuilding a lost past. The proverbs of the past form the skeleton of this trilogy of stories. He builds upon them to imagine a mindset of the people who lived through the clashing of two continental ways of life. He does this in a way that makes the language accessible to the Anglophone speaker, while maintaining a lyrical prose that holds the reader entranced.
The three books that make up this trilogy were written in 1958, 1962, and 1964. The first book, Things Fall Apart, delves into the insidious, creeping takeover of villages by the Europeans. The second book, Arrow of God, was actually written last, and deals with the shift of power from the local village and priest to that of the Europeans. The last book in chronological sequence, No Longer at Ease has the main character educated in England, and being torn apart both from his village way of life, and internally from his own heart and soul. Achebe is not just writing hit or miss here, but the work forms a solid structure based on how the colonial African was torn from his home, yet remains tied to two worlds.
"British administration of Nigeria was imposed at the start of the 20th Century and ended with independence in 1960, so Achebe's birth in 1930 came almost exactly halfway through the colonial period." - Quoted directly from the foreword
I enjoyed all three stories, but perhaps the Arrow of God most intensely. Each book has a unique perspective that could not be omitted. And, the book brings the modern reader behind the curtain of Jospeph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It is a trilogy that can be enjoyed by everyone.
"To occupy a 'European post' was second only to actually being a European." -From No Longer at Ease
I enjoyed this beautiful one-volume set of the entire trilogy in paperback. It seems that it has been available on Audible in the past, but no longer. Maybe that will be made available again soon. It is definitely worth reading multiple times. As a work on the destructive effect of European colonialism, and 'the profound continuities of the pre-colonial past', Achebe's work is a landmark for African history. Most African writers today are impacted by his trilogy.
July 31, 2019
My first encounter with African Literature was slow but crowned with immense satisfaction. I adored these three novels, "No longer at ease" (1960) surprisingly more than the other two. Its protagonist Obi Okonkwo has become one of the literary characters closer to me ever and I can't yet get why. Like a brother!
Difficult but highly recommended books.
Difficult but highly recommended books.
November 16, 2017
Happy birthday, Professor Achebe!
August 15, 2013
Chinua Achebe's African Trilogy is a fascinating insight into the process of European colonialism in Africa, from the point of view of the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria.
It begins in the 1890s with Things Fall Apart, an elegant tragedy written in sparse prose laced with proverbs. The novel follows the efforts of one man, Okonkwo, and his village, to hold on to his ancestral beliefs in times of great times, with British rule and Christianity challenging the village's traditional and ancient way of life. Things go as the story suggests, and people are thrown into confusion as the world shifts around them.
No Longer At Ease takes us to Lagos, where Okonkwo's grandson, Obi, has secured a British university education and a position in the Nigerian civil service as the colony gears up for independence. The land his grandfather inhabited has been disenchanted, but his personal relationships are still haunted by old beliefs that linger alongside the now widely accepted Christianity. Determined to avoid corruption, Obi struggles to negotiate the demands of modern life alongside traditional commitments to his family and village. No Longer At Ease is an analysis of the obstacle course that integration and good citizenship in Nigeria.
Arrow of God takes us back a little and examines the effects of the British administration on traditional ways of life. Captain Winterbottom is an administrator charged with enforcing the colonial governor's policy in the region. He is contrasted with Ezeulu, a high priest who interprets the will of his village's protector god. A series of misunderstandings and misfortunes lead to unexpected events, and both men become 'arrows of god' - unconscious implements of change, as society inexorably without any real control on either side.
Chinua Achebe is a master novelist.
It begins in the 1890s with Things Fall Apart, an elegant tragedy written in sparse prose laced with proverbs. The novel follows the efforts of one man, Okonkwo, and his village, to hold on to his ancestral beliefs in times of great times, with British rule and Christianity challenging the village's traditional and ancient way of life. Things go as the story suggests, and people are thrown into confusion as the world shifts around them.
No Longer At Ease takes us to Lagos, where Okonkwo's grandson, Obi, has secured a British university education and a position in the Nigerian civil service as the colony gears up for independence. The land his grandfather inhabited has been disenchanted, but his personal relationships are still haunted by old beliefs that linger alongside the now widely accepted Christianity. Determined to avoid corruption, Obi struggles to negotiate the demands of modern life alongside traditional commitments to his family and village. No Longer At Ease is an analysis of the obstacle course that integration and good citizenship in Nigeria.
Arrow of God takes us back a little and examines the effects of the British administration on traditional ways of life. Captain Winterbottom is an administrator charged with enforcing the colonial governor's policy in the region. He is contrasted with Ezeulu, a high priest who interprets the will of his village's protector god. A series of misunderstandings and misfortunes lead to unexpected events, and both men become 'arrows of god' - unconscious implements of change, as society inexorably without any real control on either side.
Chinua Achebe is a master novelist.
May 22, 2017
Una interesante trilogía que muestra una historia poco estudiada sobre la colonización en África, en concreto en Nigeria, un acercamiento íntimo a las tradiciones y costumbres de los Igbos quienes son una de las etinias más grandes en este país. Una perspectiva que muestra en cada una de las tres novelas una etapa diferente así como los impactos causados por la colonización británica, todo ello desde una perspectiva personal del autor. A pesar de ser novela, muestra de una forma verídica el cómo vivieron los nativos del sur de Nigeria la evangelización y culturización occidental, el choque socio-cultural que representó para estas tribus la llegada de los Ingleses. La muestra de una estructura social sólida resulta contraria a la idea que se podría haber pensado de tribus "primitivas" y que a través de películas y libros nos han hecho creer que eran casi salvajes (como en el clásico libro de Joseph Conrad "El Corazón de las Tinieblas". Un libro bien escrito, profundo al momento de mostrar las motivaciones y presiones sociales que se tenía en este régimen. Se vuelve un poco cansado y repetitvo al final si se leen los tres libros juntos, sin embargo es una lectura recomendable.
November 18, 2020
Things Fall Apart - 4.5 stars
No Longer at Ease - 4 stars
Arrow of God - 3 stars
No Longer at Ease - 4 stars
Arrow of God - 3 stars
March 14, 2022
A brilliant series of books, dissecting colonialism in Africa from the very earliest stages right up to independence.
Note: although these books are published as a "trilogy", 'Arrow of God' reads as a standalone novel. It is set linearly in time between the other two books, but does not feature any overlapping characters or plot points. Whereas 'No Longer at Ease' follows on directly from 'Things Fall Apart', as the protagonist of the former is the grandson of the protagonist of the latter.
Note: although these books are published as a "trilogy", 'Arrow of God' reads as a standalone novel. It is set linearly in time between the other two books, but does not feature any overlapping characters or plot points. Whereas 'No Longer at Ease' follows on directly from 'Things Fall Apart', as the protagonist of the former is the grandson of the protagonist of the latter.
June 28, 2015
Wonderful stories that are a fascinating insight into the lives and culture of the Igbo people and the changing social, political, and religious landscape in Nigeria throughout a period of British colonial rule. These stories explore both the individual and communal struggles in the face of the turbulence of change.
Achebe's prose is clean and lucid, brought to life by his infusion of traditional language, idioms and song that provides a visceral impact. He builds characters, especially protagonists, that frustrate whilst drawing your sympathy. However his weakest point is narrative. On the surface, very little of consequence happens here, and this can lead to a loss of drive at times.
I realise the importance of Achebe's work, and despite the middling ratings I give below I feel that these stories, 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Arrow of God' in particular, will stay with me for a long time.
* Things Fall Apart 4/5
* No Longer at Ease 2/5
* Arrow of God 3.5/5
It goes without saying that the Everyman's Library presentation is as good as ever. A wonderful way to experience these important works.
Achebe's prose is clean and lucid, brought to life by his infusion of traditional language, idioms and song that provides a visceral impact. He builds characters, especially protagonists, that frustrate whilst drawing your sympathy. However his weakest point is narrative. On the surface, very little of consequence happens here, and this can lead to a loss of drive at times.
I realise the importance of Achebe's work, and despite the middling ratings I give below I feel that these stories, 'Things Fall Apart' and 'Arrow of God' in particular, will stay with me for a long time.
* Things Fall Apart 4/5
* No Longer at Ease 2/5
* Arrow of God 3.5/5
It goes without saying that the Everyman's Library presentation is as good as ever. A wonderful way to experience these important works.
December 7, 2011
I don't know that I have a coherent review to put together because I just finished the third book today and I am still speechless. I feel like it would be easy to gush about this trilogy, but that seems trite. Achebe's words are masterful, his storytelling incredible. While I am not too familiar with Igbo culture, I see similarities and themes that resonate with my connection to Yoruba-based traditions, and it helped me understand a little more some of the values that have been passed down generation to generation in Cuban and Puerto Rican traditions. The complexity of the stories and how they complement each other and round out the overarching story of how Igboland was changed forever by white men's colonization of Nigeria (and Africa). These are important stories, and I am so glad I got to read them.
February 23, 2020
It is one of the hardest tasks as an African to describe Chinua Achebe's African trilogy from Things fall apart to No longer at ease and finally Arrow of God. It was an amazing experience reading, living the stories of these characters which all have deep lessons to teach us of pre-colonial Nigeria and it is an excellent statement of African fiction
This is a book that I will definitely find myself reading again in some months. It was with the works of men like Chinua Achebe that the world had a taste of African literature.
This is a book that I will definitely find myself reading again in some months. It was with the works of men like Chinua Achebe that the world had a taste of African literature.
October 31, 2011
although all these novels deserve a 5-star, my favorite was THINGS FALL APART and my least favorite was ARROWS OF GOD. the reader gets into the minds of the africans and, setting aside culture differences, finds they are just like us.
January 24, 2024
Things Fall Apart
“Things Fall Apart”—the classic piece of historical fiction written by great Nigerian author Chinua Achebe—tells the story of the fall of a fictional Igbo village to British Colonialism in the late 19th Century. Achebe does a masterful job depicting the “pre-colonial” culture of Igboland during this time period, weaving together Igbo proverbs and showing the intense entanglement between African spirituality and every day life. Achebe also highlights the centrality of kinship and family dynamics among the main characters, especially between husband and wives, and father and son. Finally, Achebe depicts the importance of Igbo socio-cultural hierarchy, which privileged male achievement and ambition and condemned laziness and failure.
While weaving these many cultural traditions into the story, Achebe succeeds at exposing the cleavages and divisions between the keepers of the traditions (such as the main character), and the individuals who did not understand and were often times abhorred by the traditions (such as the main character’s son). These divisions were were made apparent when Achebe introduced the British colonizers and missionaries into the fold, allowing them to capitalize and manipulate the compromised social and religious interactions of the villagers in order to take control.
Was it weakness in African socio-cultural systems that allowed an opening for the colonizers to exploit? Did African people foolishly believe their spiritual beliefs would protect them from European encroachment? An example of this is giving the Missionaries land in the “evil forest” to build a Church, thinking the project would fail due to the insidious character of the land. Ultimately, the British used outcasted people in the village to undermine the traditional systems and pave the way for their evangelizing mission.
Things Fall Apart is a profoundly sad story about the fall of an autonomous and vibrant society and culture, and the psychological impact this fall had on the people. While set in “pre-colonial” times, I appreciated the fact that the author did not depict this fictional Igbo village as a Utopia. Instead, he exposed serious flaws in the social and cultural practices of the village, and made clear through the main protagonist that a certain degree of trauma already existed prior to the ultimate fall of the village. One can infer that centuries of slave raiding and trading played a role in this psychological disposition.
Arrow of God
Set in the early 20th Century, “Arrow of God”—the second installment in Chinua Achebe’s African Trilogy—depicts the violent and dehumanizing impact of British colonialism on the Igbo people of British Nigeria. In depicting the tribulations of a Chief Priest of a village high-God, Achebe traces the fall of traditional African spirituality, despite all efforts to resist the complete cultural devastation of British colonialism.
Arrow of God opens with an inter-clan conflict over land that escalated to war. The conflict seems to have been rooted—at least in part—by the incursions of the British. Ironically, the British made themselves the final adjudicators of the conflict, awarding the disputed territory to one side and disarming the other. It just so happened that the winning side was the same clan that had welcomed British missionaries and colonial government, while the losing side had rejected both. This was a recurring theme throughout the story, as the British repeatedly took advantage of inter and inter-clan disputes among the Igbo to further entrench their colonial hold over the people.
A great theme throughout Arrow of God centers around the disastrous decision of the Igbo themselves to invite / welcome the British into their lands. This decision was again depicted on an individual level with the Chief Priest, who willingly sent one of his sons to learn from British Christian missionaries. This decision would end up backfiring in a major way.
No Longer At Ease
“No longer at ease” is the final story of Achebe’s “African Trilogy,” and it picks up two familial generations after the story of “Things Fall Apart” ended. Set in the 1950s on the eve of Nigerian independence, bribery and corruption among the African political and educated class takes center stage. Such activities were endemic in late-state colonial Nigeria, as were mass under-education and ignorance. The main character, the grandson of the main character in “Things Fall Apart,” struggles with whether to fall into the trap that other educated Igbo elites of the civil service had.
No Longer at Ease deals with the pressures of a conquered people seeking to emulate and idolize the customs of their conquerors, while still holding on to certain archaic beliefs that hold their society back. I was most struck by the inescapability of subordinate circumstances that all of the characters faced, including the Igbo elites. They were all trapped by a colonial behemoth, as well as their own traditional customs, even as the country moved closer to independence. Ultimately, No Longer at Ease was a sad concluding chapter in the African Trilogy story, demonstrating the depth of what the Igbo people lost during the colonial era.
“Things Fall Apart”—the classic piece of historical fiction written by great Nigerian author Chinua Achebe—tells the story of the fall of a fictional Igbo village to British Colonialism in the late 19th Century. Achebe does a masterful job depicting the “pre-colonial” culture of Igboland during this time period, weaving together Igbo proverbs and showing the intense entanglement between African spirituality and every day life. Achebe also highlights the centrality of kinship and family dynamics among the main characters, especially between husband and wives, and father and son. Finally, Achebe depicts the importance of Igbo socio-cultural hierarchy, which privileged male achievement and ambition and condemned laziness and failure.
While weaving these many cultural traditions into the story, Achebe succeeds at exposing the cleavages and divisions between the keepers of the traditions (such as the main character), and the individuals who did not understand and were often times abhorred by the traditions (such as the main character’s son). These divisions were were made apparent when Achebe introduced the British colonizers and missionaries into the fold, allowing them to capitalize and manipulate the compromised social and religious interactions of the villagers in order to take control.
Was it weakness in African socio-cultural systems that allowed an opening for the colonizers to exploit? Did African people foolishly believe their spiritual beliefs would protect them from European encroachment? An example of this is giving the Missionaries land in the “evil forest” to build a Church, thinking the project would fail due to the insidious character of the land. Ultimately, the British used outcasted people in the village to undermine the traditional systems and pave the way for their evangelizing mission.
Things Fall Apart is a profoundly sad story about the fall of an autonomous and vibrant society and culture, and the psychological impact this fall had on the people. While set in “pre-colonial” times, I appreciated the fact that the author did not depict this fictional Igbo village as a Utopia. Instead, he exposed serious flaws in the social and cultural practices of the village, and made clear through the main protagonist that a certain degree of trauma already existed prior to the ultimate fall of the village. One can infer that centuries of slave raiding and trading played a role in this psychological disposition.
Arrow of God
Set in the early 20th Century, “Arrow of God”—the second installment in Chinua Achebe’s African Trilogy—depicts the violent and dehumanizing impact of British colonialism on the Igbo people of British Nigeria. In depicting the tribulations of a Chief Priest of a village high-God, Achebe traces the fall of traditional African spirituality, despite all efforts to resist the complete cultural devastation of British colonialism.
Arrow of God opens with an inter-clan conflict over land that escalated to war. The conflict seems to have been rooted—at least in part—by the incursions of the British. Ironically, the British made themselves the final adjudicators of the conflict, awarding the disputed territory to one side and disarming the other. It just so happened that the winning side was the same clan that had welcomed British missionaries and colonial government, while the losing side had rejected both. This was a recurring theme throughout the story, as the British repeatedly took advantage of inter and inter-clan disputes among the Igbo to further entrench their colonial hold over the people.
A great theme throughout Arrow of God centers around the disastrous decision of the Igbo themselves to invite / welcome the British into their lands. This decision was again depicted on an individual level with the Chief Priest, who willingly sent one of his sons to learn from British Christian missionaries. This decision would end up backfiring in a major way.
No Longer At Ease
“No longer at ease” is the final story of Achebe’s “African Trilogy,” and it picks up two familial generations after the story of “Things Fall Apart” ended. Set in the 1950s on the eve of Nigerian independence, bribery and corruption among the African political and educated class takes center stage. Such activities were endemic in late-state colonial Nigeria, as were mass under-education and ignorance. The main character, the grandson of the main character in “Things Fall Apart,” struggles with whether to fall into the trap that other educated Igbo elites of the civil service had.
No Longer at Ease deals with the pressures of a conquered people seeking to emulate and idolize the customs of their conquerors, while still holding on to certain archaic beliefs that hold their society back. I was most struck by the inescapability of subordinate circumstances that all of the characters faced, including the Igbo elites. They were all trapped by a colonial behemoth, as well as their own traditional customs, even as the country moved closer to independence. Ultimately, No Longer at Ease was a sad concluding chapter in the African Trilogy story, demonstrating the depth of what the Igbo people lost during the colonial era.
September 21, 2016
Very informative on African Culture!
Read
September 15, 2024♠️9 de espadas♠️
Trilogía mexicana (de mininreseñas)
TODO SE DESMORONA: la prosa sucinta y efectiva ayuda a mantener la inmediatez (a ratos oral) de esta narración terriblemente pesimista , lo cual es por supuesto su más grande cualidad.
ME ALEGRARÍA DE OTRA MUERTE: un laberinto kafkiano donde los personajes deambulan alienados de la realidad que habitan. El principal fallo es su excesiva verbosidad y los personajes unidimensionales. Es el punto flaco de la Trilogía.
LA FLECHA DEL DIOS: una exposición de largo aliento sobre las costumbres y tradiciones del pueblo igbo.Tiene un personaje principal apasionante y profundo, lleno de claroscuros al que es un placer (en ocasiones masoquista) conocer y acompañar en su inevitable caída.
En suma, los tres libros valen muchísimo la pena, las setecientas páginas se pasan volando. Aún con las (contadas) falencias los recomiendo bastante.
Y ya está.
Trilogía mexicana (de mininreseñas)
TODO SE DESMORONA: la prosa sucinta y efectiva ayuda a mantener la inmediatez (a ratos oral) de esta narración terriblemente pesimista , lo cual es por supuesto su más grande cualidad.
ME ALEGRARÍA DE OTRA MUERTE: un laberinto kafkiano donde los personajes deambulan alienados de la realidad que habitan. El principal fallo es su excesiva verbosidad y los personajes unidimensionales. Es el punto flaco de la Trilogía.
LA FLECHA DEL DIOS: una exposición de largo aliento sobre las costumbres y tradiciones del pueblo igbo.Tiene un personaje principal apasionante y profundo, lleno de claroscuros al que es un placer (en ocasiones masoquista) conocer y acompañar en su inevitable caída.
En suma, los tres libros valen muchísimo la pena, las setecientas páginas se pasan volando. Aún con las (contadas) falencias los recomiendo bastante.
Y ya está.
July 31, 2025
Things Fall apart: 4/5
No longer at ease: 4/5
Arrow of god: 1/5
No longer at ease: 4/5
Arrow of god: 1/5
October 20, 2025
It is a good thing this was 3 books in 1 because I don't think I would have ever managed to go past the first one instead, and the fact that they all directly followed each other meant that at least it wasn't so hard to remember everyone's name.
This was soooo interesting learning about all the Igbo customs and how christianity became such a strong influence.
And I really enjoyed the unbiased points of view of colonialism with the events which lead to tribe slowly losing their ways and adapting to the English influence.
The slow slow build up throughout all 3 of the books for them to end in a quick and tragic end really keeps the interest high and makes you more appreciate the general atmosphere to better understand the ongoing dynamics than following constantly an actual plot.
An index with a family tree and a list of everyone would have however been greatly appreciated
This was soooo interesting learning about all the Igbo customs and how christianity became such a strong influence.
And I really enjoyed the unbiased points of view of colonialism with the events which lead to tribe slowly losing their ways and adapting to the English influence.
The slow slow build up throughout all 3 of the books for them to end in a quick and tragic end really keeps the interest high and makes you more appreciate the general atmosphere to better understand the ongoing dynamics than following constantly an actual plot.
An index with a family tree and a list of everyone would have however been greatly appreciated
October 23, 2016
Things Fall Apart I've already reviewed this book, so won't again here, except to say that this is the strongest of the 3 books.
No Longer at Ease: This story talked about the struggle of Obi Okonkwo (Okonkwo's grandson) to assimilate into the new western culture. Although he undergoes much struggle, I can not relate as much with this character. He is misogynistic, and too concerned with status. Ironically, it is Isaac (Nwoye), his father, that is more compelling, as Nwoye has actually paid the price for living the way he wanted to. Obi has not done these things, but still allows pride to make his life more complicated for him. He is unlikeable because he lets his conviction slide. Although he is courageous in being prideful, he is not in courageous when it comes time to pay the penalty for going his own way. This is a much less relatable, much weaker book.
Arrow of God: This starts off in the same style as Things Fall Apart, with the main character being Ezeulu, the chief priest of Ulu, chief god of the 6 subvillages of Umuaro. As it deals more with temple politics and tribal conflict, it is less relatable. At first I hated the ending, but after a few days I thought it was vastly appropriate. I have had to reread the book to pick up all the foreshadowing, which did seem out of place at the time. Achebe does do a good job of covering this later with more regular topics. The style of this story is as good as the first, with some inconsistency as to narrative pacing. Further, few people would have the same strength of conviction as Ezeulu. A good book, but not quite as good as Things Fall Apart.
No Longer at Ease: This story talked about the struggle of Obi Okonkwo (Okonkwo's grandson) to assimilate into the new western culture. Although he undergoes much struggle, I can not relate as much with this character. He is misogynistic, and too concerned with status. Ironically, it is Isaac (Nwoye), his father, that is more compelling, as Nwoye has actually paid the price for living the way he wanted to. Obi has not done these things, but still allows pride to make his life more complicated for him. He is unlikeable because he lets his conviction slide. Although he is courageous in being prideful, he is not in courageous when it comes time to pay the penalty for going his own way. This is a much less relatable, much weaker book.
Arrow of God: This starts off in the same style as Things Fall Apart, with the main character being Ezeulu, the chief priest of Ulu, chief god of the 6 subvillages of Umuaro. As it deals more with temple politics and tribal conflict, it is less relatable. At first I hated the ending, but after a few days I thought it was vastly appropriate. I have had to reread the book to pick up all the foreshadowing, which did seem out of place at the time. Achebe does do a good job of covering this later with more regular topics. The style of this story is as good as the first, with some inconsistency as to narrative pacing. Further, few people would have the same strength of conviction as Ezeulu. A good book, but not quite as good as Things Fall Apart.
November 30, 2016
This trilogy is told from different perspective and in slight different time settings though all three dealt with the struggle of the African tribal cultures and the coming of white men. In the first book, Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo had risen above and beyond his father’s reputation. He became a Strong man and yet in the end, was helpless in his fight for the old ways. The second book, No Longer At East, Okonkwo’s grandson was brought up in a Christian home and was sent to learn the ways of white men. Despite his education, he still managed to disappoint his family and villagers and tumbled from grace. The last book, Arrow of God, was told from the perspective of a Chief Priest in a separate village and yet even he fell in the end.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.
This may be the first time ever I read of a book so deeply entrenched in African tribal culture. Some of the things sound ridiculous to me but I would’ve felt the same about Chinese superstitions too. I did feel terribly affected when white men seem to have forced themselves upon the Africans. While there were probably some good men with good intentions, most weren’t that well-behaved in a land they thought inferior. This book, however, showed that even though they sounded rather primitive, all these meetings they had was rather democratic! I have truly learnt many things from these books.
September 13, 2020
Chinua Achebe’s multifaceted trilogy comprises the three novels Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God (published between 1958-1964) and shines a light on Africa’s colonial past. To illustrate the importance of stories like these, I am quoting from the introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “Things Fall Apart was pioneering not in its subject but in its African point of view, as there were already many well-regarded books about Africans written by non-Africans; tribal life had already been endlessly portrayed from the outside. Achebe himself first read some of the better-known examples of these 'colonialism classics' as a secondary-school student in the 1940s. 'I did not see myself as an African to begin with,' he has written about his response to the African characters. 'I took sides with the white men against the savages. The white man was good and reasonable and intelligent and courageous. The savages arrayed against him were sinister and stupid or, at the most, cunning. I hated their guts.' As Achebe matured and became more critical in his reading, he began to understand the enormous power that stories had, and how much this power was shaped by who told the stories and by how they were told.”
July 7, 2017
I kept bumping into to this book and the author, in book magazines and in conversation. I was surprised by several things--how some people raved about the author and that many of my well read friends did not know about him. I didn't either. How did that happen, I don't know.
The three books in the African Trilogy tell of Africa's shift from tribe based living to colonization to modern times with Christianity as a major dynamic in the history.
The books follow the same people and their ancestors through the excruciating changes of history.
All the characters are full fledged. The traditions are well and accurately described. Their is insight and compassion and sorrow for all the points of view that bump into one another. My response as I shut the book was that I felt introduced from the inside out to the story of an African people.
Neither the historical context nor the individual stories and truth were short changed.
I love bumping into excellence I had not know and needed to know.The African Trilogy
August 7, 2021
It's a shame the Nobel committee doesn't award prizes posthumously for if anyone deserved the honour for Literature it's Achebe. Perhaps with the passage of time people will appreciate this masterpiece as being at least as good as Dickens' best work or even Dostoevsky's. I originally wanted just to read Things Fall Apart but as I found this trilogy I thought why not get this and boy am I glad I did! That book was good but Arrow of God is even better and for me it's the best of the lot. It's a bit like the Star Wars trilogy where the second installment i.e. The Empire Strikes Back is the best followed by the first and the third installment. When I first started reading this I was unprepared for just how great this work is and how much enjoyment I would get from this. I foresee many repeated readings going forward the way I already do for Dostoevky's and Dicken's works over the years. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Read the whole trilogy and don't just settle for Things Fall Apart. Like Lord of the Rings or Chronicles of Narnia you are shortchanging yourself by not devouring the whole collection. A worthy addition to any decent library of masterpieces.
April 6, 2017
1) Things Fall Apart - 4 stars
2) No Longer at Ease - 4 stars
3) Arrow of God - 4 stars
A great collection of novels - the main theme of which addresses the collision of a traditional culture and that of European ideology and colonialism. But what makes Achebe's writing remarkable is the subtle, gentle and non-judgemental way he approaches this topic. He portrays the traditional and "modern" cultures in both a positive and negative light - highlighting the humanity, but also the injustices, that exist in both cultures.
Overall a very enjoyable, informative and fulfilling read, providing an unparalleled insight into the traditional rural culture of past Nigeria.
2) No Longer at Ease - 4 stars
3) Arrow of God - 4 stars
A great collection of novels - the main theme of which addresses the collision of a traditional culture and that of European ideology and colonialism. But what makes Achebe's writing remarkable is the subtle, gentle and non-judgemental way he approaches this topic. He portrays the traditional and "modern" cultures in both a positive and negative light - highlighting the humanity, but also the injustices, that exist in both cultures.
Overall a very enjoyable, informative and fulfilling read, providing an unparalleled insight into the traditional rural culture of past Nigeria.
December 1, 2015
Achebe has a fascinating style, very lyrical and clear but also giving his prose a fantastic tempo and pace which reflects the atmosphere of the times he is recounting. It is evidently different in the three books, with the narrative style unmistakable in all three but the with the second more modern book different to the other two.
I found all three to be very moving works for very different reasons, each one selecting a particular male theme for investigation. Achebe is a powerful author and his books all certainly leave an impression. I don't think a true book lover can do without him.
I found all three to be very moving works for very different reasons, each one selecting a particular male theme for investigation. Achebe is a powerful author and his books all certainly leave an impression. I don't think a true book lover can do without him.
October 26, 2009
just reread these great books- so good!!! and especially interesting to read here at a sudanese university where everyone has an opinion about african literature...wish i hadn't left it quite so long to rediscover them though!!
April 15, 2012
must read for all of us in the 'third world' witnessing developments/ ruptures across generations... and showed me a loving way to 'forgive'... and turn my angst into a more meditative, ability to intervene.
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