This was an engaging read, and the flowing writing made the story seem real and true. All of the characters were dynamic, and could each probably have an entire book written about them, but the central character Okonkwo, was essential in viewing the parallel between different cultures and customs, and even though his culture was so different from my own, I could truly imagine living in his life, which is something only well-crafted novels can do. Content warning: abuse.- Natasha, eighth-grade teen volunteer
Publisher's description:
Things Fall Apart tells two overlapping, intertwining stories, both of which center around Okonkwo, a "strong man" of an Ibo village in Nigeria. The first of these stories traces Okonkwo's fall from grace with the tribal world in which he lives, and in its classical purity of line and economical beauty it provides us with a powerful fable about the immemorial conflict between the individual and society. The second story, which is as modern as the first is ancient...concerns the clash of cultures and the destruction of Okonkwo's world through the arrival of aggressive, proselytizing European missionaries.