Things Fall Apart (Penguin Modern Classics) Book

A compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of change, the "Penguin Classics" edition of Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" is introduced by Biyi Bandele. Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance, he can only hurtle towards tragedy. First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in "Arrow of God" and "No Longer at Ease". Chinua Achebe (b. 1930) was raised in the large village of Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria, and is a graduate of University College, Ibadan.The author of more than twenty books - novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry - Achebe has received numerous honours from around the world, including honourary doctorates from more than thirty colleges and universities. He is also the recipient of Nigeria's highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize for Fiction. If you enjoyed "Things Fall Apart", you might like Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", also available in "Penguin Classics". "A great book, that bespeaks a great, brave, kind, human spirit". (John Updike). "His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work". (Toni Morrison). "The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down". (Nelson Mandela).

Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive, famous throughout West Africa. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy. Chinua Achebe's stark novel reshaped both African and world literature. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease.

Things Fall Apart is one of the modern age's defining books - the book that marked African independence and in one leap created a powerful, vivid Nigerian literature. An incomparable story, told in a way that still seems radical and extraordinary, Things Fall Apart is essential reading.