The first question I have about Things Fall Apart is why was this on our shelf to start with? Who bought it and why? Or did we lift it from my mother’s bookshelf a long long time ago?
The next question I have is… why, why, why do we get so excited by books like this. And when I say we, I mean the people who decide what’s a classic, what’s a must read, what’s a prize winner, what should be in a high schooler’s curriculum? I don’t get it. OK so it was written in the late ’50s, before Nigerian independence. I can see why it might have received acclaim way back then – but now? I feel like there are better books, better stories and better characters.
It was interesting. But I don’t understand the rave reviews or why it’s on all sorts of great book lists.
Pingback: From the Stacks Challenge - 2008 | Flamingo House Happenings
Unrelated to your post, but it made me remember that I wanted to ask you if you finished arranging your books by colors and WHY do you arrange them that way?
No, you didn’t get it from me. I think you got it for me! You and I talked about it a couple of years ago. I’ve been wanting to read it. Send it to me for my b’day!
My love of that book is directly tied to meeting him a few years ago (um…now that I think about it…about 14 years ago. I am so freakin’ old). Which happens with a lot of books. It’s on the edge and it tips into likey because of the author himself.
Good question. This book was on the 9th grade reading list for each of my sons, and though they are avid readers, neither one liked it. I couldn’t get through it.
That book was required reading for my African Lit class, but I don’t remember much about it. The one that stuck with me from that class was God’s Bits of Wood – totally blew me away. Try that one.