Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart is Nigerian Chinua Achebe’s debut novel, and is considered an archetypal modern African novel, and one of the first to receive global critical acclaim.

The story is told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a fearless warrior in the late 1800s. It explores his family and customs, and the beginning of European colonialism and Christian missionaries in his community–the novel presents one of the most insightful and meaningful monuments to African experience. It contrasts life in precolonial Africa, illuminating its depth and humanity, with the colonialism that came after.