Things Fall Apart

A review of: Things Fall Apart

A book written by: Chinua Achebe

I couldn’t get into this book, at all. Not even a little. If I was to make a list of the best one thousand books I’ve ever read, this one wouldn’t be on the list. In fact, if I was to make a list of the worst two books I’ve ever read, this book would take second only to My Life by Bill Clinton. The best part of the book was when Okonkwo finally did himself in. This is because I knew that the book was finally coming to an end, and that the mental torture would soon be over. The most difficult part of reading this book had to be staying awake while reading it. Seriously though, I could drink several glasses of coffee, swallow a couple bags of sugar, then start reading this book. I’d be out in minutes. Because of this… “Minor” setback, the book took quite a while to read, and I had to do most of my reading in very uncomfortable places.

In a couple of years, some kid is going to bring this book up to me, and be like “hey mister, what one thing do you remember most about this book, and how did it change the plot?” and I’m going to respond with something like: That book, eh? Yeah, I still remember good ol’ Okonkwo killing himself. Obviously it brought the book to an end, which is why I remember it most.

The title of the book could indicate that the authors writing skills are falling apart, however I think he would like us to believe that the real meaning behind the title, a well thought out one, I might add, is just that. Things fall apart. Ways of life fall apart, people fall apart, the Igbo fall apart. Nothing can stand forever, and time is the hardest test anything, and everything, will ever face. Time rips things apart.

I’m sure many ‘types’ of readers will enjoy this book, ones that don’t fall asleep easily and ones that are interested in the ways of life of those who don’t have a lot of technology. A reader that is, for the most part, the exact opposite of me.

I always wondered why they needed to take a young virgin, and a young male, in compensation for the death of this guys wife. What’s the young male for? I also wondered why he got in so much trouble for shooting at his wife, he didn’t actually hit her, what’s the big deal? And I thought Okownkwo’s father was a pretty cool guy. I wonder why Okownkwo couldn’t be the same.