Chinua Achebe
1958
Around 210 pages
It's nice to get out of Western Europe every once awhile, and especially nice to get out of Ireland (sorry lads, but you don't make it easy on me). And unlike some of our novels that take place in Africa, this story isn't about white men heroically trying to preserve an endangered species.
The story follows Okonkwo, an Igbo man and wrestling champion who is a member of the fictional Nigerian clan of Umuofia. He is toxic masculinity personified, so predictably, he has daddy issues. He becomes a leader in his village, but he's such a dick that things, you know, fall apart. Also, there are white Christian missionaries around, which is never good news.
I don't think Achebe should be criticized for writing in English. Let the man tell his story his way. This was an incredibly immersive read, you really get a feel for the villagers' way of life. Okonkwo is a classic tragic hero, with masculinity so fragile that it's no wonder he obtained a leadership position.
It's especially impressive given this was Achebe's debut novel. More Achebe please!
RATING: *****
Interesting Facts:
Interesting Facts:
Achebe explained his reason for writing in English rather than Igbo, saying "The novel form seems to go with the English language. There is a problem with the Igbo language. It suffers from a very serious inheritance which it received at the beginning of this century from the Anglican mission. They sent out a missionary by the name of Dennis. Archdeacon Dennis. He was a scholar. He had this notion that the Igbo language—which had very many different dialects—should somehow manufacture a uniform dialect that would be used in writing to avoid all these different dialects. Because the missionaries were powerful, what they wanted to do they did. This became the law. But the standard version cannot sing. There's nothing you can do with it to make it sing. It's heavy. It's wooden. It doesn't go anywhere."
Followed by a sequel in 1960.
UP NEXT: The Bitter Glass by Eilis Dillon
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