Achebe, Chinua (Vol. 5) - Achebe, Chinua 1930–

Achebe, Chinua 1930–

Achebe, a Nigerian novelist, short story writer, poet, critic, teacher, and diplomat, writes richly anthropological fiction concerned with conflict caused by change. His successful first novel, Things Fall Apart, is still his best known work. (See also Contemporary Authors, Vols. 1-4, rev. ed.)

Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart was published in England in 1958, two years before Nigerian independence. The price of the book was fifteen shillings, which placed it out of reach for the average Nigerian whose annual income in those days did not exceed seventy-five dollars. Achebe's novel, however, had been written not for a Nigerian reading audience nor even for an African reading audience, but, to a large extent, for readers outside of Africa. However, in 1960, when Nigeria became independent, the educational system began to reflect a sense of growing national pride; and in 1964,… Things Fall Apart...

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