Things Fall Apart stands out from so many other works of its era because it does not sentimentalize Africa. Situated in the village of Umuofia it speaks of brutality and suffering, tradition and community.

Follow the story of Okonkwo, the son of a lazy but amiable man and the father of several children of his own. Overcoming the obstacles set before him in childhood, he becomes a prosperous farmer and winning wrestler and gains the respect of his peers.

SYNOPSIS

The 1958 novel chronicles the life of Okonkwo, the leader of an Igbo (Ibo) community, from the events leading up to his banishment from the community for accidentally killing a clansman, through the seven years of his exile, to his return. Addresses the problem of the intrusion in the 1890s of white missionaries and colonial government into tribal Igbo society, and describes the simultaneous disintegration of its protagonist Okonkwo and of his village. The novel was praised for its intelligent and realistic treatment of tribal beliefs and of psychological disintegration coincident with social unraveling. Things Fall Apart helped create the Nigerian literary renaissance of the 1960s.