Chinua Achebe

Okonkwo er kendt viden om som en stor bryder og kriger, og han er en af landsbyen Umuofias mest lovende mænd. I modsætning til sin far, som han foragter, er Okonkwo hårdtarbejdende, tapper og stolt, og hans største ambition er at blive en af stammens stormænd. Han har fra et fattigt udgangspunkt langsomt arbejdet sig hen imod dette mål, da et tragisk uheld tvinger ham og hans familie ud i syv års landflygtighed. Da de endelig kan vende hjem til Umuofia, hvor Okonkwo planlægger at tage fat, hvor han slap, har alting forandret sig; engelske missionærer har gjort deres indtog og medbragt britisk administration og retsvæsen. Som følge heraf er stammens ældgamle traditioner og hierarkier i opbrud, og Okonkwo ser magtesløs til, mens alt omkring ham falder fra hinanden. "Det, der gør Alt falder fra hinanden til noget ganske særligt, er Achebes formidable evne til at fortælle historien fra afrikanernes synsvinkel uden samtidig at falde i den sentimentale grøft at fremstille livet før kolonisering som et sorgløst paradis, og livet under britisk styre som et mareridt. Det eneste, der er sort og hvidt i Achebes verden, er menneskenes hud. ... Hvis man kun vil læse en eneste afrikansk roman, foreslår jeg, at man læser denne suverænt fortalte, sansemættede, smukke og smertefulde historie." - Louise Windfeld-Høeberg, Weekendavisen "Chinua Achebes Alt falder fra hinanden er et afrikansk hovedværk om kultursammenstød skrevet med empati og humor. ... Romanen giver indblik i den oprindelige afrikanske kultur og er skrevet i et klart sprog med en overordnet synsvinkel. Den oftest nøgterne stil rummer en styrke, som stadig griber." - Eva Pohl, Berlingske "Læs og forstå var der nogle lærebøger i skolen, der hed. Når man har læst Alt falder fra hinanden, forstår man lidt mere om Afrikas kultur og historie. Forfatteren Chinua Achebe er så nøgtern og ryster ikke på hånden i sine beskrivelser af de voldsomme kultursammenstød - eller nærmere kulturovergreb - der finder sted. Achebe glorificerer eller fordømmer ikke hverken stammefolkene eller de hvide kristne. Han fortæller bare historien. Sproget er lavmælt, og det er netop manglen på store følelsesladede udbrud, der gør fortællingen så stærk og vedkommende. En vigtig bog, som er god at blive klog på." - Bettina Schnegelsberg-Laursen, Litteratursiden.dk "Det ville være umuligt at sige, hvordan Alt falder fra hinanden har påvirket afrikanske forfattere. Det ville være ligesom at spørge, hvordan Shakespeare har påvirket engelske forfattere eller, hvordan Pushkin har påvirket russiske." - Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor i filosofi ved Princeton University "En af de fem bøger alle bør læse mindst én gang." - Oprah Winfrey "Der var en forfatter, der hed Chinua Achebe, i hvis selskab fængselsmurene faldt ned." - Nelson Mandela

The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War. For more than forty years Achebe was silent on those terrible years, until he produced this towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events. A marriage of history, remembrance, poetry and vivid first-hand observation, There Was a Country is a work of wisdom and compassion from one of the great voices of our age.

The more Chike saw the ferry-boats the more he wanted to make the trip to Asaba. But where would he get the money? He did not know. Still, he hoped. Eleven-year-old Chike longs to cross the Niger River to the city of Asaba, but he doesn't have the sixpence he needs to pay for the ferry ride. With the help of his friend S. M. O. G., he embarks on a series of adventures to help him get there. Along the way, he is exposed to a range of new experiences that are both thrilling and terrifying, from eating his first skewer of suya under the shade of a mango tree, to visiting the village magician who promises to double the money in his pocket. Once he finally makes it across the river, Chike realizes that life on the other side is far different from his expectations, and he must find the courage within him to make it home. Chike and the River is a magical tale of boundaries, bravery, and growth, by Chinua Achebe, one of the world's most beloved and admired storytellers.

The pieces here span reflections on personal and collective identity, on home and family, on literature, language and politics, and on Achebe's lifelong attempt to reclaim the definition of 'Africa' for its own authorship. For the first thirty years of his life, before Nigeria's independence in 1960, Achebe was officially defined as a 'British Protected Person'. In The Education of a British-Protected Child he gives us a vivid, ironic and delicately nuanced portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria and inhabiting its 'middle ground', interrogating both his happy memories of reading English adventure stories in secondary school and also the harsher truths of colonial rule.

From one of the greatest writers of the modern era, an intimate and essential collection of personal essays on home, identity, and colonialism Chinua Achebe's characteristically eloquent and nuanced voice is everywhere present in these seventeen beautifully written pieces. From a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria to considerations on the African-American Diaspora, from a glimpse into his extraordinary family life and his thoughts on the potent symbolism of President Obama's elections--this charmingly personal, intellectually disciplined, and steadfastly wise collection is an indispensable addition to the remarkable Achebe oeuvre.

Beautifully written yet highly controversial, An Image of Africa asserts Achebe's belief in Joseph Conrad as a 'bloody racist' and his conviction that Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness only serves to perpetuate damaging stereotypes of black people. Also included is The Trouble with Nigeria, Achebe's searing outpouring of his frustrations with his country. GREAT IDEAS. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

Chike grew up in Umuofia with his mother and sisters. Before he left for Onitsha, his mother warned him never to go to the big River Niger. Chike was keen to visit the river. He requested money from his uncle, who refused. Whilst in Onitsha, he washed cars and got the money. He paid a boat fare to cross the big River Niger. Whilst on the other side, he lost track of time and missed the last boat back. Chike's breathtaking adventures began.

La novela poscolonialista por excelencia: una de las grandes obras del siglo XX. La tragedia personal y colectiva de un poderoso guerrero Ibo que ve c mo todo su mundo se viene abajo con la llegada del hombre blanco. Okonkwo es un gran guerrero, cuya fama se extiende por todo el frica Occidental, pero al matar por accidente a un prohombre de su clan es obligado a expiar su culpa con el sacrificio de su hijastro y el exilio. Cuando por fin puede regresar a su aldea, la encuentra repleta de misioneros y gobernadores brit nicos. Su mundo se desmorona, y l no puede m s que precipitarse hacia la tragedia. Esta apasionada par bola sobre un hombre orgulloso que, desamparado, presencia la ruina de su pueblo fue publicada en 1958, y desde entonces ha vendido m s de diez millones de ejemplares en cuarenta y cinco idiomas.

Chinua Achebe is considered the father of African literature in English, the writer who 'opened the magic casements of African fiction' for an international readership. Following the 50th anniversary of the publication of his ground-breaking Things Fall Apart, Everyman republish Achebe's first and most famous novel alongside No Longer at Ease and Arrow of God, under the collective title The African Trilogy. In Things Fall Apart the individual tragedy of Okonkwo, 'strong man' and tribal elder in the Nigeria of the 1890s is intertwined with the transformation of traditional Igbo society under the impact of Christianity and colonialism. In No Longer at Ease, Okonkwo's grandson, Obi, educated in England, returns to a civil-service job in colonial Lagos, only to clash with the ruling elite to which he now believes he belongs. Arrow of God is set in the 1920s and explores the conflict from the two points of view - often, but not always, opposing - ofEzuelu, an Igbo priest, and Captain Winterbottom, a British district officer. In spare and lucid prose,Achebe tellsa universal tale of personal and moral struggle in a changing world which continues to resonate in Africa today and has captured the imaginations of readers everywhere.

Ezeulu, headstrong chief priest of the god Ulu, is worshipped by the six villages of Umuaro. But he is beginning to find his authority increasingly under threat - from his rivals in the tribe, from those in the white government and even from his own family. Yet he still feels he must be untouchable - surely he is an arrow in the bow of his God? Armed with this belief, he is prepared to lead his people, even if it means destruction and annihilation. Yet the people will not be so easily dominated. Spare and powerful, Arrow of God is an unforgettable portrayal of the loss of faith, and the struggle between tradition and change. Continuing the epic saga of the community in Things Fall Apart, it is the second volume of Achebe's African trilogy, and is followed by No Longer at Ease.

Obi Okonkwo is an idealistic young man who, thanks to the privileges of an education in Britain, has now returned to Nigeria for a job in the civil service. However in his new role he finds that the way of government seems to be backhanders and corruption. Obi manages to resist the bribes that are offered to him, but when he falls in love with an unsuitable girl - to the disapproval of his parents - he sinks further into emotional and financial turmoil. The lure of easy money becomes harder to refuse, and Obi becomes caught in a trap he cannot escape. Showing a man lost in cultural limbo, and a Nigeria entering a new age of disillusionment, No Longer at Ease concludes Achebe's remarkable trilogy charting three generations of an African community under the impact of colonialism, the first two volumes of which are Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.

Here, collected for the first time in stunning Everyman's Library hardcover, are the three internationally acclaimed classic novels that comprise what has come to be known as Chinua Achebe's "African Trilogy." With an intorduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Beginning with the best-selling Things Fall Apart--on the heels of its fiftieth anniversary--The African Trilogy captures a society caught between its traditional roots and the demands of a rapidly changing world. Achebe's most famous novel introduces us to Okonkwo, an important member of the Igbo people, who cannot adjust as his village is colonized by the British. In No Longer at Ease we meet his grandson, Obi Okonkwo, a young man who was sent to a university in England and has returned, only to clash with the ruling elite to which he now believes he belongs. Arrow of God tells the story of Ezuelu, the chief priest of several Nigerian villages, and his battle with Christian missionaries. In these masterful novels, Achebe brilliantly sets universal tales of personal and moral struggle in the context of the tragic drama of colonization. Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Everyman's Library Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a chronology of the author's life and times.

Achebe uses the 'fall' of one man, a descendent of the hero in Things Fall Apart, to depict the birth of a whole new age in Nigerian life -- one ruled by the most powerful and disillusioning corruption. This edition includes an introduction by Simon E. Gikandi, Professor of English at Princeton University.

â??â?¦The story is the tragedy of Okonkwo, an important man in the Igbo tribe in the days when white men were first appearing on the scene â?¦ a very simple but excellent novelâ??. The Observer Also available in an extended edition including essays, maps and illustrations

This is Chinua Achebe's classic novel, with more than two million copies sold since its first U. S. publication in 1969. Combining a richly African story with the author's keen awareness of the qualities common to all humanity, Achebe here shows that he is "gloriously gifted, with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent." -- Nadine Gordimer