Things Fall Apart

By Chinua Achebe. Published by Anchor Books. Pages 209.

(There are books that I randomly pick, out of the blue and don't even bother to check with the librarian about. 'Things Fall Apart' falls into this category, much more so because the book doesn't even have a descriptive blurb and I couldn't have chosen a better first book on African culture if I'd gone looking for it)

In a narrative akin to folklore, the first half of the book dwells on the way of living of an African tribe, the Ibo, who live in Umuofia. The reader is slowly initiated into the different beliefs, rituals and traditions of the tribe - mainly through Okonkwo, a famous warrior in the clan and his family; though the focus pans across the society.

The Ibo live in a closely knit community, are governed by leaders who've earned their titles solely through hard work with inheritance playing no role. It's a patriarchal society that practices polygamy, men make major decisions and women just obey (yet it's men who pay the bride-price to marry a girl) They worship the natural forces - Mother Earth, Hills and Caves, rain, thunder .. yam, their staple food also has its patron. Democratic, practical .. and charming, what with all the native proverbs and phrases bringing the story alive.

However ... the Ibo believe twins to be evil and leave the newborns in earthen pots in the Evil Forest. People who suffer from certain sicknesses are carried away to the Evil Forest and left there to die, for it would be an abomination to Mother Earth to bury these bodies. They follow some more practices that can only be described as macabre.

This brutality is presented in a straightforward and matter-of-fact-ly way from the perspective of a native, it's so endearing at times that when in the latter portion of the book the English missionaries arrive, you begin to fear for these innocent natives whose actions you 'know' are barbaric. But you're also thinking, who is to say what is right or wrong and are these standards universal? And in times of conflict between cultures, which one emerges the winner? Like Okonkwo's uncle, Uchendu says, "The world has no end, and what is good among one people is an abomination with others."

The tribe tries to accept and cope up with the changes the missionaries bring forth. However things do fall apart. The last paragraph of this book packs volumes with a perspective shift.

The writing is extremely simple, portrays the Ibo culture for just what it is, with all its richness and faults. This is a story of a man trying to cope up with his fears and how his actions affect the tightly knit society that he's a part of. It's a story about the meeting of two very different cultures with one perceiving theirs to be the right and only right way of living.

And it's a very highly recommended read if you are simply looking for a well written book  and like to read about different cultures. 

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Only after reading the book did I look up on it and found that not only is this book considered one of the most important books about African culture, it also has a sequel 'No Longer at Ease'. Plan to read it sometime soon.

While on the topic of conflicts between cultures and on why one nation appears/assumes itself to be superior to another, I'd recommend reading Jared Diamond's 'Guns,Germs and Steel'. It is a pretty involved, lengthy read though and you can get a preview before picking the book by watching the NatGeo documentary made based on the book (the 3 videos are available online, as is the book)

In this Pulitzer Prize winning work, Diamond attempts to find answers to why the Eurasian civilizations emerged victorious over other races, why they conquered others and not the other way around, reasons for their 'superiority'. The videos present a good gist of the book and really ought to be watched!
'Things Fall Apart' also reminded me of 'The Gods Must Be Crazy' movies,  mentioning it here just so you get a better idea about the book.