Things Fall Apart Jan-March 2022 Housekeeping Items

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Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. Achebe is considered the “father of the African novel”, although he denied this. Things Fall Apart is book number one of a trilogy which also includes No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God.

Achebe was raised in Ogidi, Nigeria. He was born into the Igbo tribe, one of the country's three major tribal groups (1930). He went to college at University College (then) which is now The University of Ibadan, then a part of London University. The University of Ibadan became independent in 1963 and is the oldest degree granting institution in Nigeria. After graduation, Achebe worked for a time in broadcasting and then co-founded a publishing company, which folded during the Biafran War for Independence, which Achebe supported. From 1976-1981 Achebe was a professor of English at the University of Nigeria while also running two publishing companies. After an auto accident in 1990 which left Achebe partially paralyzed, he moved to the U.S. and was on staff at Bard College and Brown University. Achebe passed away in 2013.

Achebe also published several collections of short stories and children’s books. He won the Man Booker International Prize in 2007. Here is a good article on the prize: https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/13/arts/AP-Booker-International.html

Possible themes: After reading about Achebe and this work, many themes are addressed by critics. So not to ruin potential points of discussion(s) I will only mention that one common thread is the theme of change vs. tradition. As we read, let’s try to come up with more themes!

There are 25 chapters in Things Fall Apart. I’ve divided them into monthly segments and posted discussion topics so that everybody can read at their own pace and there won’t be spoilers. For example, I can’t focus on books stretched out too long, so I will read the book through and comment as I go along—I will probably finish in January. However, that doesn’t mean that you need to finish then—read at your own pace, discuss at your own pace! Most of all: ENJOY!

Information gleaned from Wikipedia, biography.com, and The New York Times.

Just to bump!