Rating: 
Summary: Not a bad book.....
Review: I just finished reading this book straight through during the course of last night, and I wholly object to the reviewer who said that it couldn't hold an avid reader's attention....This book presents a portrait of Ibo culture that is sympathetic yet realistic, and a portrait of a man that is portrayed in much the same fashion. The back cover of the book compares this story to one of the classical Greek plays: perhaps this is because of the spartanness of the narrative shared by both; perhaps it is because in both that genre and this work, the main character has a tragic flaw that in the end brings their downfall. Aside from that, they aren't that similar..... excluding the fact that in both a world is portrayed that is very much NOT like our own.... I have a feeling that this work is often pigeonholed with other works about Africa written by predominantly black authors (either in Africa or amongst its diaspora). This is a better work than that: one can take more from it than something surmised as 'alternate' narrative. It is a well-written and constructed work that should earn its place in a human canon not just one of a particular substratum.... Who should read this book? Everyone who likes to read. It is a pretty, well-written story ASIDE from being about Africa in tribal times. Another book that is kind of contact literature-- when white folks come into common with other folks-- is Shisaku Endo's 'Silence': detailing missionary work and prosletizing of Christian missionaries in Japan. Hope someone reads it....
Rating:
Summary: Attack on colonialism cannot make a Great Book
Review: Like some of the other writers here have commented, the first part of the novel is a little boring. The deadpan style of writing was a little too simple if you can say that about someone's writing. That plus the difficulty of sounding the African words made me a little irritated when I read it. I wondered what simpleton had written this text. But then I read a critcism of "Heart of Darkness" written by Chinua Achebe. (In it he says that Europeans have often used Africa as a "foil" to make their own accomplishments seem grander.) Anyway, this essay was obviously the work of a learned scholar. Why would such a sophisticated writer parody the Ernest Hemingway style with far-too-simple declarative sentences? I will admit that this book is a good work of literature but I question whether it is a Great Book. How many of it's 100,000 U.S. sales annually arise because students are compelled by their teachers to read it. Is the real reason this book is widely read that it attacks European culture, colonialism, and church missionaries? After all, attacks on the majority by the minority, such as "Why the Caged Bird Sings", have elevated writers of mediocre talent, write: "Alice Walker", to international acclaim. (Toni Morrison is not a mediocre talent so say the critics with which I usually agree. I have yet to read her work but look forward to doing so.) As the review posted at Amazon.com says, Achebe does not get carried away and gloss over the brutal nature of African village culure. He describes the warfare between tribes and implicitly attacks the pride that the villagers have in being great warriors. He describes how twins are thrown away at birth. (It was not clear to me if they killed them and then buried them in the Evil Forest.) But Chinua Achebe himself is a product of the colonial, meaning British, culture that he attacks. Brought up on English literature and short-listed for the Booker prize he owes much to the Victorian Era. Had there been no colonials there would be no "Things Fall Apart". Not all books that kids in school have read for many years are great books. For example, Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" is a good book. But why do so many schools assign it as if it was a great book? And I think that "Things Fall Apart" would probably be good to assign to highschoolers. But let's not call a work of literature great simply because it attacks western civilization.
Rating: 
Summary: Blah
Review: This book was the worst i have ever read. It could barely hold my attention and i'm an avid reader. The story wasn't at all interesting until the end. i wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Poor writting with no plot!
Review: This book didnt even have a plot until the last 50 pages. No one cared about Okonkwo's yams!I only read this book because it was required and I hope that no one would ever read it for pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Blind to one's own kin
Review: This book is truly remarkable. Achebe writes with a simplicity and clarity not found in many popular novels. He describes a life, while different on the surface to western culture, contains many things for which all people live: success, power, and community. The thing I found to be so interesting in this book, is that for the firat half there is not "time period" to which many books adhere. This part of the novel could take place last week or 450 years ago. It tells of a man's struggle to not be like his father. He wants to have a prominent place in society, and have things that will provide for his family. This is what the "rat race" is all about. Aside from Okonkwo's desire to acheive, there are many other things that pertain to many lives today. The youthful rebellion of Nyowe, the many meetings of council members, and trials that hope to determine the outcomes of crimes and domestic disputes without bias. The people of the Umuofia also have their own religion based on faith. These, I believe, are the things that the missionaries and the colonist government do not see, because they only see the surface differences between themselves and the people of Umuofia. And it is because these people are not "brutal savages" that the colonists are able to manipulate their way into the lives of the villagers. The villagers respect the practicing of religion of one's "fatherland". This is a view that not only shows their tolerance, but their open mindedness as well. This is a great book that everyone should read! It not only expands one's outlook, but is entertaining, accessible, suspenseful, and surprising as well. Whether Achebe wrote in this style in order to make the reader able to see everything he wanted to say, or to show us who the real "savages" were, I don't know, but I cannot help but feel a stranger to civilized world after reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: Things Fall Apart exemplifies how imperialism almost destroyed African and Asian cultures. The first part of the novel tells of the customs and people of the Ibo tribe in Africa through the eyes of Okonkwo, the great warrior of the tribe. Then missionaries and British constables come to Okonkwo's village to bring the word of Christ nd to "civilize" the village. These and other changes change the village forever and make for an amazing dark novel that anyone interested in history or human rights should read
Rating:
Summary: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold
Review: James Joyce's _Ulysses_ pales in complexity next to Achebe's _Things Fall Apart_. Yet, unlike Joyce's dizzying array of literary tactics, Achebe's raw simplicity is refreshing and powerful, rich and resonant. His story of the rise and eventual fall of a man, Okonkwo, and a tribe, Umuofia, is executed with great craft that arises from a deep understanding of Nigerian culture and a great insight into the nature of humanity. The reading of this novel cannot be separated from a parallel study of Yeats's "Second Coming": "TURNING and turning in the widening gyre/ The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/ Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/ Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,/ The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/ The ceremony of innocence is drowned;/ The best lack all conviction, while the worst/ Are full of passionate intensity..."
Rating:
Summary: Just wanted to say...
Review: I dont really feel like sitting here and telling you what this story is about...you can read the other reviews if that is what you want. I am just here taking time out of my day to type this for all the prospective readers out there in order to tell them that this book is really a great novel. There are not to many books out there with such a wholesome story. Just read the book, that is all I have to say, you won't be disapointed.
Rating:
Summary: A pleasant surprise, so to speak
Review: I never had any intention of reading "Things Fall Apart" until it was required of me for a state literary criticism exam that only two people at my high school were allowed to take. I had discovered what book on the list I had to read a week before the exam, and I read it ravenously, not because I had to, but because it grabbed me from the first paragraph. Achebe writes like a classic playwright, in Homeric fashion. He exposes us to a culture that few know about and goes into detail the customs. It's a fascinating read. It tells the story of a man and the transition he is forced to make from old to new. It's excellent, one of the best books I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: True Story of Life
Review: Things fall apart depicts a world in Nigeria where everything is primitive yet structured. Until the Europeans came everything was wonderful and in place. Then everything fell apart. Everyone became slaves etc. etc. And one man who strived to be a hero of his clan gets thrown back into the cage he was brought up in. The message this book carries holds many similarities to our own! This book can be boring at first but trust me, it's one of those classic novels that you must read. Chinua Achebe wrote this book beautifully! And I think he deserves recognition for it!
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