on
3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Rating: 3/5
Pages: 209
Started: 8 April 2024
Finished: 11 April 2024
Summary:
Achebe's famed African Novel tells the story of Okonkwo, an ambitious yet rash man, during his struggles with his family and his village, and then his village's struggles against White missionaries. Told in a fable-like manner and steeped in African culture, Things Fall Apart uses the nuance of storytelling to showcase two very different sides to African life.
Thoughts:
This was a beautifully written book, and the subtlety was brilliant: Achebe rarely passes judgement through his narration, but instead artistically and nakedly writes the reality of a situation. I loved the incorporation of myth into the writing as well; it was beautifully added in, in a way that felt even more natural than magical realism is. The book painted incredibly vivid pictures, and it was easy to be immersed not just in the plot, but in the book's texture.
I could barely stand to read this book, though, because of the sexism. I do not think Okonkwo was supposed to be a likable character--he was difficult and rash and unkind--but his absolute fixation on the inferiority of women was so hard to read. It was almost impressive how many times he described something he hated, something he didn't respect, something he saw as cowardly or evil, as feminine. It came up again and again, to the point where it went far beyond what would have been necessary for Okonkwo to be clearly characterized as sexist. And that's just the things he said: he also beat his wives many times, casually, whenever they did anything that didn't please him. I was very angry many times throughout the book, which made it really difficult to enjoy. I was hoping that the sexism would go somewhere, or that the book would comment on it or condemn it somehow, but it didn't. And while that subtlety and lack of condemnation was interesting for some things, it was quite hard to take when the sexism was so highlighted.
Perhaps I am missing something; I'll look forward to my professor's lecture on the book next week, since that will hopefuly clear some things up. But as it is, I do not think this book was written for women.