Things Fall Apart

I finally read this book. I (or my school) somehow missed it while I was in high school, but it's now the 50th anniversary of its publication.

There's a slow buildup in the novel, but Achebe's writing is very compelling and draws you into the story. His writing style is very concise and seems to tell more than it shows. But that might just be the nature of trying to describe a sparse Africa. The novel's title (and if you have any knowledge of Africa's colonization) is obvious foreshadowing that this is not going to end well, but you can't help but hope that it will.

I'm (for once) having trouble putting my thoughts into words. I didn't dislike the book, but I didn't necessarily like it either. But I would recommend it to others, and it's one of those books that stick with you. (I read so many books and watch so many movies that at this point, my remembrance of the story/the feeling that I'm left with is now a high indicator of whether I think highly of the story or not.)

This is one of the few books in which I've actually felt pained about while reading, but I think that's mostly because of the missionaries and my sensitivity to religious fanatics. And how they proceeded to destroy an entire culture.