By Pat Chukwuelue (in Ogidi)
It is natural for one to feel particularly excited if he is lucky to have crossed the path of an icon, enigma or hero, who is revered around the globe. The writer blushes at the fact that he hails from the same area as his idol, Chinualumogu Achebe. In fact, Achebe’s homestead and grave in Ogidi, close to UgwuNwasike and located along Ogidi-Abatete Road, is just a stone’s throw from the writer’s office.
Regrettably, one of Africa’s literary giants, Chinua Achebe, passed away in 2013 at the ripe age of 82. But his works continue to make headlines, inspiring and influencing generations. Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, written in 1958, which is widely considered his magnum opus, and is the most widely read book in modern African literature has been ranked among 100 stories on BBC that shaped the world, making it into the Top 5.
Last April, a few months after the 60th anniversary of the publication of Things Fall Apart, the novel was named one of the 12 books considered “the Greatest Book Ever Written” in a list which was compiled by Encyclopaedia Brittanica. In the same month, Things Fall Apart was also named in the list of 100 Books to feature in ‘The Great American Read’ TV Series. The American series “celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels as chosen in a national survey”.
Things Fall Apart is regarded as an important novel and one of the greatest classics of our time. The story chronicles the pre-colonial life in Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. The novel interrogates the clash of cultures, traditional values and belief systems. That literary interrogation is still relevant today, especially in the developing nations.
