Things Fall Apart

1958 (published) ; Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart is a post-colonial novel written by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe in 1958. It is seen as the archetypal modern African novel in English, one of the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a staple book in schools throughout Africa and is widely read and studied in English-speaking countries around the world. It was first published in 1958 by William Heinemann Ltd. in the UK; in 1962 it was also the first work published in Heinemann’s African Writers Series. The title of the novel comes from a line in W. B. Yeats’ poem, “The Second Coming.”

The novel follows the life of Okonkwo, an Igbo (“Ibo” in the novel) leader and local wrestling champion in the fictional Nigerian village of Umuofia. The work is split into three parts, the first describing his family and personal history, the customs and society of the Igbo, and the second and third sections introduce the influence of British colonialism and Christian missionaries on the Igbo community.

Things Fall Apart was followed by a sequel, No Longer at Ease (1960), originally written as the second part of a larger work along with Arrow of God (1964). Achebe states his two later novels A Man of the People (1966) and Anthills of the Savannah (1987), while not featuring Okonkwo’s descendants, are spiritual successors to the previous novels in chronicling African history.