Things Fall Apart: Chinua Achebe (Penguin Modern Classics)

by Chinua Achebe (Author), Biyi Bandele (Introduction), Biyi Bandele (Introduction), Chinua Achebe (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2001

  $13.36

  A compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of change, the Penguin Classics edition of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart is introduced by Biyi Bandele. Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance, he can only hurtle towards tragedy. First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease. Chinua Achebe (b. 1930) was raised in the large village of Ogidi in Eastern Nigeria, and graduated from University College, Ibadan. The author of more than twenty books - novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry - Achebe received numerous honours from around the world, including honourary doctorates from more than thirty colleges and universities. He was also the recipient of Nigeria's highest award for intellectual achievement, the Nigerian National Merit Award. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize for Fiction. He died in 2013. If you enjoyed Things Fall Apart, you might like Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, also available in Penguin Classics. 'A great book, that bespeaks a great, brave, kind, human spirit' John Updike 'His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work' Toni Morrison 'The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down' Nelson Mandela

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.52

  Written during a period of nationalist assertion and an emerging modern culture in Africa, Things Fall Apart's influence quickly spread from Nigeria throughout Africa and beyond. In its fifty years, this unforgettable novel has been translated into fifty languages and has been read by millions. A Chronology of Achebe's life and work and a Selected Bibliography are also included.

• New

  Paperback
  2006

  $12.54

  Okonowo is the greatest warrior alive. His fame has spread like a bushfire in West Africa and he is one of the most powerful men of his clan. But he also has a fiery temper. Determined not to be like his father, he refuses to show weakness to anyone - even if the only way he can master his feelings is with his fists. When outsiders threaten the traditions of his clan, Okonowo takes violent action. Will the great man's dangerous pride eventually destroy him?

• New

  Hardcover
  1971

  $23.91

  Winner of International Man Booker Prize 2007.