Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 5/19 - Apart

Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart appears on lists of the top novels of the 20th century. Despite its reputation and popularity, I resisted reading it, leery of political correctness or, worse, a lecture on race. I was pleased it didn’t offer either of those. In fact, its best aspect is the neutrality of the narrator, which allows the reader his/her own interpretation. Set in Nigeria, the author’s homeland, told in direct, unpretentious prose and dialogue, it details the inner workings of a clan, focusing largely on one of its most influential members. Whites have just begun to settle in the land. The inevitable clash of cultures ensues. The lives of the native population are changing, as some, particularly those considered outcasts, gravitate toward the more forgiving Christianity. In such a work the reader’s biases will come into play more than usual. Life, the world, continually evolves, sometimes devolves. There is always a measure of sadness when old ways perish, as the guilt of many Americans over treatment of Indians attests. Whether progress has been made or not is up to the opinion of the individual. Modernity always wins out in the western world and its spheres of influence. People must adapt or languish, even perish. This is this gist of this influential novel. Achebe was cited in the London Times as one of the “1000 makers of the 20th century for defining a modern African literature that was truly African” (from About the Author, Anchor Books Edition). The novel has been translated into 50 languages and has sold eight million copies. It was published in 1959. More than 50 years later, life in Nigeria has changed substantially. It is now a leading producer of crude oil, and it is suffering at the hands of Islamist terrorists, not Christian missionaries. I wonder if there is a novel by a current Nigerian author that details the fate of the clans. Do any still exist? How do the majority of Nigerians view themselves today? On a scale of five, I rate Things Fall Apart four. It is valuable more as a portrait of a changing society than as a traditional novel. Achebe wrote five others, and short stories, poetry, essays and children’s books. He won several literary awards. He was highly critical of two acclaimed works set in Africa: Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, which he said was racist, and Irishman Joyce Cary’s Mister Johnson, which he called culturally ignorant. He died in 2013. (Facts also culled from Wiki.)

My thanks to the elderly woman who purchased four paperback romances today in Park Slope.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx