Things Fall Apart

In sparse words Things Fall Apart tells the story of strong warrior Okonkwo and the cultural and societal customs in his village at the end of the 1800s in Nigeria. Okonkwo believes in his gods and the norms he's grown up to adhere. He strives for power and wealth and the old ways. He believes in evil spirits that return as children only to die again and again. He believes in the inferiority of women, beats his wives and uses “woman” as an insult. He believes in the laws that send him and his family into exile, despite the accidental nature of the act that triggered them. While other members of their village seem to develop doubts about the unnecessary cruelty of their gods and traditions (the “throwing out of twins”), Okonkwo stays strong, sheds a few tears when he has to kill a boy, but never wavers.

When the white men appear with their religion, claiming superiority over local gods, the village little by little falls apart.

The ending really took me by surprise and made me reevaluate the tale. It contrasts one man's inability to change with the sudden and harsh changes forced upon the natives by European colonialism. Adaptation vs tradition, monotheism vs polytheism, the masculine vs the feminine. I might even want to read the next one.