Things Fall Apart was somewhat of a shocker to me. At first I really couldn't get into it. I disliked the slow pace of the beginning, and it kind of just seemed random old memories at first. Then at about 40% through the book things turned around. The pace picked up when Ikemefuna died, and it started just building momentum which made it hard for me to put down at times. Nearing the end I began to appreciate the vague beginning, it was refreshing having a beginning like that instead of the author spelling out everything in chronological order.
I also found the conflict between the church and the indigenous people to be intriguing. The ending was somewhat of a shocker coming off of the chapter before, because the events of Chapter 24 didn't really indicate what was going to happen in Chapter 25. Overall I ended up liking the book, it was a great read, and I do recommend it, you just need to get past the slower beginning to gain understanding.
I understand what you mean, a lot of authors just spill it all out like its worthless and they can't be bothered. Its nice that the author gives you background on the character. It lets you understand him better and sympathize with him more. Personally, i like twist endings because you can't see it coming, which makes it better in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteIt was a bit slow at the begining, but hen it got interesting, and there were lots of suprises in the book.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that the book had a slow beginning. This was also kind of nice though because it showed you all the facts of the clan so that you did not get lost later in the book. The book also speeds up and the slow beginning I think helps the momentum build. It's kind of like a rollar coaster, since they started low it was easier to make the uphill climb a little more dramtic rather than starting high and trying to get higher. The conflict made the book more interesting, but I think the only reason was because Okonkwo's son changed sides. The fight the church has over indigeous people is something we have been told over and over about in school and I think Nyowe is the only reason it was interesting.
ReplyDeleteExactly Michael. I had the same problem, and I usually do with books of historical fiction. An interesting aspect about Thing Fall Apart for me, was how this book depicted the white man and their influence in Africa, rather than the native americans. This book has a lot of turns in it, and I can see why you would like it Michael.
ReplyDeleteI definitely know what you mean. I 'm reading this book called the Historian and it is so slow paced I'm not even kidding. In Things Fall Apart, I liked how the book got a little more interesting toward the end because that's when everything bad happens and there are so many types of conflict. That's pretty bad when you think that horrible things in the story are more interesting in the story. Overall I liked this book and would like to read more like it. Total recommendation also.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even notice that the beginning was vague, I thought it had an ADD type thing going on. Like the author was trying to give us all the background we would need to understand the rest of the book in a short amount of space. But things did begin to go in order after the death if Ikemefuna. I think that shows how instrumental his death was in the story.
ReplyDeleteI really didn't think the beginning was all that slow (expecially after reading beowulf which dragged on about nothing). The start was important due to the charater development. I liked the ending and how he died unhonorably after a honorable life.
ReplyDeleteThings Fall Apart is indeed a classic. Theres a reason it got a bajillion awards! It thought it was interesting from the beginning, but that was just me. I like the face that its a story about misery and failure, although I like stories that are carefree an escape the clutches of reality. I would like to think the people of Umuofia had gotten rid of the white men for good, but thats not what history tells us. Good Job.
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