In 1958,
Chinua Achebe’s first novel, Things Fall Apart, established
African literature on the world stage. More than 60 years later, it remains the
most widely read African novel.
It has
sold more than 20 million copies in English alone and has been translated into
more than 60 languages. Time Magazine named it “One of the 100 greatest novels of all time,”
and Encyclopedia
Britannica, one of the “12 novels
considered the greatest books ever written.”
In 2020,
as the world confronts systemic racism and battles the COVID-19 pandemic,
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and his two other novels—Arrow of God, and No
Longer At Ease—that make up The African Trilogy, remain
relevant, profound and crucial.