Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

When a book makes the Wikipedia list of "100 Best Books of All Time", you have certain expectations.

I'm not saying that it was a bad book. It wasn't bad. I just didn't get a lot out of it.

"Things Fall Apart" is set in the period of early colonization of Nigera by the British Empire. It introduces a main character who is, in his youth, successful at all aspects of his tribal life. As he ages, he is plagued more and more by shortcomings in his character which decrease his standing with his tribe.

Basically, it's a tragedy: the descent of a honest, valiant hero into selfishness, depravity, and depression. It's also a pretty honest representation of early missionary methods in Africa and gives us a clue to why they were not really successful.

Ok, so maybe I got a lot out of it. The tragedy of heroism lost on the personal scale was paired with the tragedy of heroism lost on the clan scale (villagers refusing to fight against white people because of the repercussions). There's also an shift in the rationalization process of the main character between the outset and the outcome which I think is a notable feature of the writer's understanding of the transition between tribalism and colonialism in his home country.

Style, my ducks. Can't do much without it. The structure of the writing was a hybrid of "The Catcher in the Rye" and a fantasy story where the writer gets carried away making up words. I realize that all the unknown words were actually a language that is spoken in Nigeria, but often they were not explained at all. There was a bloody glossary at the end, just like there was in the fairy story I wrote in eighth grade. As to "The Catcher in the Rye", many of you have undoubtedly heard me harping on about how I dislike it. It lacked any drops of humour, wit, or fancy that could have enlivened the mood or tone. The metaphors, although accurate and not clichéd, were in most instances unmemorable. At least in Hemingway there was a reference to cojones or someones momma every few pages to keep everyone interested.

Although the literary construction of this novel is crystalline, the style is textbook - dry in its correctness.

Up next: The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner. I am craving something quotable.