#174 in Historical fiction
Things Fall Apart
- 192
- Pages
- about 3.5 h
- Reading time
- Film 1987
- On screen
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Our view
Achebe renders Igbo village life before and during the arrival of colonial rule with such clarity that the world feels complete in under two hundred pages. He idealises neither side, and his protagonist Okonkwo is proud, harsh and often hard to sympathise with, which is the point and not a flaw. Some readers find the episodic structure aimless. It rewards those willing to observe a society closely instead of waiting for a conventional plot.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
Things Fall Apart is the 1958 debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. Set in Colonial Nigeria, it portrays the story of Okonkwo, a traditional and influential leader of the fictional Igbo clan of Umuofia, who opposes colonialism and early Christianity. Written when Achebe was working at the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation, it was first published in London by Heinemann on 17 June 1958.
Reading order · The African Trilogy
Full order & progress →- Things Fall ApartThis book
7.57.5 / 10 - No Longer at EaseNo Longer at Ease–Not ranked yet
- Arrow of GodArrow of God–Not ranked yet
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmThings fall apartIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.4 across 805 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 85% of the weight and the score stays at 7.5 — the Historical fiction average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.8 | 94 | 12% |
| Google Books | 6.0 | 13 | 2% |
| Hardcover | 7.4 | 698 | 87% |
Frequently asked
How long is Things Fall Apart?
It has 192 pages — shorter than 95% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 7.4 and 8.0, closest to this book.
