Other editions of book Things Fall Apart

THINGS FALL APART tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a "strong man" of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient, and which elevates the book to a tragic plane, concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries. These twin dramas are perfectly harmonized, and they are modulated by an awareness capable of encompassing at once the life of nature, human history, and the mysterious compulsions of the soul. THINGS FALL APART is the most illuminating and permanent monument we have to the modern African experience as seen from within.

The most enduring account we have of the modern African experience as seen from within. Starting with the intricate pattern of duties and traditions, and the universal human conflicts of a tribal village in what is now Nigeria, Things Fall Apart encompasses the advent of European colonialism, the intrusion of Christianity, and the shattering effects of an entire historical era on the immemorial culture of Africa.From the Hardcover edition.