Rating: 
Summary: A truly great book.
Review: A wonder book. Powerful writing. The end is so profoundly sad you barely know what to do with yourself.
Rating: 
Summary: A book in progress
Review: The book written by Chinua Achebe is neither a glorious one nor a terrible one. Achebe says everything how it is, he is very straight forward. In no sense does he give you any time for imagination or self discovery, everything is there in plain and bold letters. Nothing is changed from the actual well being in Africa and Achebe portrays Africa in the way it is, not the way people in America see it. Achebe's main point is to get out the true Africa, instead of the one people think of it as. Things Fall Apart is one to read if you are secluded from the rest of the world in any way, shape or form. Not only are there characters that are very real in the book, but you become their companion in this long struggle against Ogbaje children, the Egwugwu, being banned from your own country and more.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book
Review: Things Fall Apart is a great book! Achebe got the name for his novel from W.B. Yeats's poem, The Second Coming. It is a story of a mans life in Africa when the British are trying to colonize the area. I didn't really read to many books until I read this and it has really turned me on to reading because it was such a good story. I recommend it to anyone and all ages because it is so easy to read and enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read in a while
Review: Achebe's Things Fall Apart is nothing short of brilliant. This is the best book that I've read in a long time. The story is simple, yet powerful. As a college literature professor, this book will become a staple on my syllabus. Things Fall Apart accomplishes what all great literature does: it teaches us and moves us. That's all we can ask for.
Rating:
Summary: painful, but a winner!
Review: i'm sure everyone has already said everything, so i'll make this short. i read this book maybe three years ago and here's what it's done for me.1) anytime i meet someone from nigeria i have a ready-made conversation. they all know the book, love chinua achebe, and love to talk about it. and since i do too, everyone wins. 2) what sticks with me even now, though i haven't looked at the book since, is the deep pain that went on in that village as it transitioned toward christianity. i'll never forget that character of Ikemefuna (sp?), the sacrificed "peace-child." still makes me feel like i could cry when i think of the tragedy. of so many sacrificed, and why?
Rating:
Summary: Interesting peek into Ibo culture
Review: One of my top 10 reads of this year (based on which books I've read this year, not what has come out this year), Achebe manages to win the reader over to the side of a pretty unlikeably main character. He also gives those outside the Ibo culture a chance to understand it so that when the bad colonizing forces of England come and begin to take over, we see that what England (and what, even USA did in other parts of the world) was a Bad Thing (tm). This book is a complex work of art that all students of contemporary literature should read and will probably like. I recommend this compelling narrative to anyone interested even vaguely in Nigeria or colonialism or just looking for a new culture to examine.
Rating:
Summary: Simplicity is the key.
Review: I'm not surprised by the response of our friend from Texas who seems to have only noticed the undesireable fractions of Igbo culture (murder of twin newborns as a religious practice, for example) illustrated by Mr. Achebe in this brutally honest work of literature. Surely white Christian values and pratices are much more civilized and good-natured than those nasty Igbo---oh, wait, weren't these zealots the same people responsible for so much genocide and colonial enslavement waged against Native Americans, Africans, the people of India, China, Australia, the Middle East, and most of Eastern Europe? Looks like Mr. Achebe's work has no heroes. Perhaps his message is that nothing ever lasts and no one is ever righteous.
Rating:
Summary: A Marvelous Work of African Literature; a Novel for All Ages
Review: At first, I was a bit skeptical of African literature, but after reading "Things Fall Apart," I now extol Chinua Achebe and look forward to reading other works of African and African-American literature such as Alex Haley's "Roots." This novel is undoubtedly one of Chinua Achebe's best novels. Achebe brilliantly depicts the life of Okonkwo--a proud man who is held in high respect by fellow villagers in the Nigerian village of Umuofia. He possesses many positive characteristics, but his rugged, harsh, intolerable disposition ultimately leads to his death. He refuses to acknowledge the gradual prevalence of Christianity in his village, and, seeing that other villagers have deserted his cause, he realizes he has lost the battle and hangs himself. This novel definitely corresponds with anyone who is content with things as they are in society and is bothered by change.
Rating: 
Summary: 2 stars for holding my attention
Review: Things Fall Apart is an interesting book, but I would not call it ground-breaking or legendary. While it gives a very interesting account of an African culture made obsolete after the appearance of Christian missionaries, it is hard to sympathize with Okonkwo, who cannot adjust to a culture that does not involve murdering twin newborns. Perhaps Achebe's flaw is his truthfulness; his brutal honesty in describing the culture led me to see Christianity's arrival in that land as a blessing.
Rating:
Summary: Problems Faced in Life
Review: This is one of the most captivating books that I have ever read. I am a high school student that is into thrillers, mysteries, and romances, ect. I had to choose a book to read for independent reading. The first book that interested me was Things Fall Apart, for that title along is catchy. I started to read the book and amazingly I got into it. I read 100 pages in one day and had to call it quits because I needed slip. Things Fall Apart, is about a man's struggle to be a man. He, Okonkwo, tries to uphold all the values that means importance to him life honor, title (which one receives of how much wealth he has), family...ect. His father's achievement haunts him throughout the whole book because his father had no achievement. His biggest fear is to become like his father. He wanted to be a man who has control over anything such as his wives, his children, and his property. One who does not have control over these things is called an agbala, a man who hasn't taken a title (i.e. a woman). Okonkwo tries to encourage his children to become fierce and bold instead of wasting their life to go out and play. He is disappointed in his children because they themselves are not as eager of making something of their life, like he once was. This can be compared to how things are in this generation. Children hear stories of how their parents struggled so hard to be where they are at in life, and the reason they do this is either because they wish their child to follow in their footsteps, or because they are disappointed in them for not doing so. This can be compared to Okonkwo's son, Nwoye, who is the "different" one in his family. He does not see his father's point of his reasoning and behavior. Nwoye becomes Christian towards the end of the book, because he believes in it and does not want to follow his father's rules which he believes covers who is really wants to be. Okonkwo only wants best for his son, and if his son becomes Christian, then his son is breaking all the traditional values that Okonkwo and his people have hold deep within them. Okonkwo does not understand Nwoye, and basically disowns him. This is similar to the present because in some family situations, the father and the son do not understand each other because they have totally different views. Who is wrong? Not either one when it comes down to it, yet they feel the need to blame each other. There are many family situations. The love between mother and daughter is explained through Ezinma, the daughter, and Ekwefi, the mother. Ekwefi struggles through many hurtful and devastating emotions because every child she bears dies within a few months. Ekwefi losses hope and became bitter until Ezinma is born. Ezinma lasted for more than a few months, and this sign of hope brought down Ekwefi's bitterness. Ezinma and Ekwefi are very close, like best friends, for they talk about anything, call each other by their first name, and do many other things. There are some mother's who want that kind of relationship with their child presently. They want that kind of trust and friendship with their children that last forever. There are many different kinds of relationships and advice in this novel. Another kind is a binding friendship like that between Okonkwo and Obierika. Okonkwo and Obierika have fun with their jokes, think deep of each other's insightful thoughts, and are there for each other until the end. Some binding friendships are sacred and hard to have. Many people in life try so hard to find that kind of friendship. Sadly, much of these binding rituals, traditions, clans of different tribal people, friendships, families, and more became overthrown as "things fall apart" when the white men came.
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