more photos (1)

Chinua Achebe’s Followers (3,802)

Add New
Videos

Achebe Discusses Africa 50 Years After 'Things Fall Apart'

Add a comment

Things Fall Apart, Part 2: Crash Course Literature 209

Add a comment

Chinua Achebe

Born

in Ogidi, Anambra, Nigeria

November 16, 1930

Died

March 21, 2013

Genre

Fiction, History, Short Stories

edit data

Works, including the novel Things Fall Apart (1958), of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe describe traditional African life in conflict with colonial rule and westernization.

This poet and critic served as professor at Brown University. People best know and most widely read his first book in modern African literature.

Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria reared Achebe, who excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. World religions and traditional African cultures fascinated him, who began stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian broadcasting service and quickly moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention in the late 1950s; his la Works, including the novel Things Fall Apart (1958), of Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe describe traditional African life in conflict with colonial rule and westernization.

This poet and critic served as professor at Brown University. People best know and most widely read his first book in modern African literature.

Christian parents in the Igbo town of Ogidi in southeastern Nigeria reared Achebe, who excelled at school and won a scholarship for undergraduate studies. World religions and traditional African cultures fascinated him, who began stories as a university student. After graduation, he worked for the Nigerian broadcasting service and quickly moved to the metropolis of Lagos. He gained worldwide attention in the late 1950s; his later novels include No Longer at Ease (1960), Arrow of God (1964), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1987). Achebe defended the use of English, a "language of colonizers," in African literature. In 1975, controversy focused on his lecture An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" for its criticism of Joseph Conrad as "a bloody racist."

When the region of Biafra broke away from Nigeria in 1967, Achebe, a devoted supporter of independence, served as ambassador for the people of the new nation. The war ravaged the populace, and as starvation and violence took its toll, he appealed to the people of Europe and the Americas for aid. When the Nigerian government retook the region in 1970, he involved in political parties but witnessed the corruption and elitism that duly frustration him, who quickly resigned. He lived in the United States for several years in the 1970s, and after a car accident left him partially disabled, he returned to the United States in 1990.

Novels of Achebe focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children's books, and essay collections. He served as the David and Marianna Fisher university professor of Africana studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.

ollowing a brief illness, Achebe died. ...more

Combine Editions
Chinua Achebe’s books

Average rating: 3.75 · 423,030 ratings · 24,500 reviews · 140 distinct works • Similar authors

	Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy, #1) 3.73 avg rating — 377,573 ratings — published 1958 — 336 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	No Longer at Ease (The African Trilogy, #2) 3.86 avg rating — 11,531 ratings — published 1960 — 109 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Arrow of God (The African Trilogy, #3) 3.80 avg rating — 8,069 ratings — published 1964 — 95 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Man of the People 3.89 avg rating — 5,078 ratings — published 1966 — 70 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Anthills of the Savannah 3.85 avg rating — 4,272 ratings — published 1987 — 65 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra 4.01 avg rating — 2,502 ratings — published 2012 — 23 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Africa's Tarnished Name 4.41 avg rating — 2,042 ratings — published 1997	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Girls at War and Other Stories 3.75 avg rating — 1,486 ratings — published 1972 — 26 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The African Trilogy: Things Fall Apart, No Longer at Ease, Arrow of God (The African Trilogy, #1-3) 4.27 avg rating — 1,066 ratings — published 1988 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Chike and the River 3.82 avg rating — 1,185 ratings — published 1966 — 12 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Chinua Achebe…

Series by Chinua Achebe

The African Trilogy (3 books)
by

Chinua Achebe

3.74 avg rating — 398,168 ratings

For avid readers, the turning of the calendar year always brings about the particular joys of anticipation. But before we all get swept up in...

Polls

October 2018 Revisit the Shelf Poll

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, 1818, 273 pages, Group read: 2013, 2014, 2016

99 votes, 29.8%

Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, 1838, 608 pages, Group read: 2011

67 votes, 20.2%

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, 1844, 1536 pages, Group read: 2013, 2015

64 votes, 19.3%

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943, 496 pages, Group read: 2012, 2013

55 votes, 16.6%

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, 1958, 209 pages, Group read: 2015

47 votes, 14.2%

332 total votes

comments and details

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Task 10.1 Buddy Holly	4	54	Sep 23, 2009 02:40PM
The Seasonal Read...: Math Tasks	77	400	Oct 02, 2009 04:19PM
The Seasonal Read...: FALL CHALLENGE 2009 PLANS	167	1518	Oct 14, 2009 08:10AM
Literary Fiction ...: The Root Rewrites the Western Canon	13	459	Nov 22, 2009 01:19PM
The Seasonal Read...: FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS	3942	2744	Nov 30, 2009 09:01PM
Read 150+ Books a...: Diane's 150 of 2009 (163)	47	253	Dec 31, 2009 06:10AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Lisa's 2009 Reads	106	604	Dec 31, 2009 04:07PM

More…

Chinua Achebe’s Followers (3,802)

Add NewVideos

Chinua Achebe

Combine EditionsChinua Achebe’s books

Series by Chinua Achebe

Related News

Polls

Topics Mentioning This Author

Add New
Videos

Combine Editions
Chinua Achebe’s books