A00374 - Book of the Month for the Month of December 2024: "Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe: The Future
I finished reading Things Fall Apart before the end of December 2024. I was not happy with the ending nor was I very sympathetic to the novel's main character. Perhaps, I am too limited in my perception of Anglophone African literature. Perhaps, I should just be quiet on this one and let those more knowledgeable chime in as to whether Things Fall Apart is great literature. I do not know what you might say, but the following is what Wikipedia says.
Peace,
Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
January 9, 2025
Things Fall Apart is regarded as a milestone in Anglophone African literature, and for the perception of African literature in the West. It is studied widely in Africa, Europe, India, and North America, where it has been the subject of secondary and tertiary analytical works. It has been translated to over 50 languages.[15] Time listed the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.[16]
Nigerian playwright Wole Soyinka described Things Fall Apart as "the first novel in English which spoke from the interior of the African character, rather than portraying the African as an exotic, as the white man would see him." During the 60th anniversary of the novel, it was read at the South Bank Centre in London on 15 April 2018 by Femi Elufowoju Jr, Adesua Etomi, Lucian Msamati, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Chibundu Onuzo, Ellah Wakatama Allfrey, Ben Okri, and Margaret Busby.[17][18]
On 5 November 2019 BBC News listed Things Fall Apart on its list of the 100 most influential novels.[19]
Adaptations
A radio drama called Okonkwo was made of the novel in April 1961 by the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation. It featured Wole Soyinka in a supporting role.[20]
The novel was made into the 1971 film Things Fall Apart starring Princess Elizabeth of Toro, Johnny Sekka and Orlando Martins by Francis Oladele and Wolf Schmidt, executive producers Hollywood lawyer Edward Mosk and his wife Fern, who wrote the screenplay. It was directed by Hansjürgen Pohland.[21][22]
In 1987, the book was made into a very successful miniseries directed by David Orere and broadcast on Nigerian television by the Nigerian Television Authority. It starred several established film actors, including Pete Edochie in the lead role of Okonkwo and Justus Esiri as Obierika, with Nkem Owoh and Sam Loco Efe in supporting roles.[23]
In 1999, the American hip-hop band the Roots released their fourth studio album Things Fall Apart in reference to Achebe's novel.
In 1999, a theatrical production of Things Fall Apart adapted by Biyi Bandele was performed at the Kennedy Center.[24]
In September 2024, a television adaptation was announced to be in development at A24 with Idris Elba set to star as well as act as executive producer alongside David Oyelowo.[25]
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