Bøger af Chinua Achebe

Okonkwo er kendt viden om som en stor bryder og kriger, og han er en af landsbyen Umuofias mest lovende mænd. I modsætning til sin far, som han foragter, er Okonkwo hårdtarbejdende, tapper og stolt, og hans største ambition er at blive en af stammens stormænd. Han har fra et fattigt udgangspunkt langsomt arbejdet sig hen imod dette mål, da et tragisk uheld tvinger ham og hans familie ud i syv års landflygtighed. Da de endelig kan vende hjem til Umuofia, hvor Okonkwo planlægger at tage fat, hvor han slap, har alting forandret sig; engelske missionærer har gjort deres indtog og medbragt britisk administration og retsvæsen. Som følge heraf er stammens ældgamle traditioner og hierarkier i opbrud, og Okonkwo ser magtesløs til, mens alt omkring ham falder fra hinanden."Det, der gør Alt falder fra hinanden til noget ganske særligt, er Achebes formidable evne til at fortælle historien fra afrikanernes synsvinkel uden samtidig at falde i den sentimentale grøft at fremstille livet før kolonisering som et sorgløst paradis, og livet under britisk styre som et mareridt. Det eneste, der er sort og hvidt i Achebes verden, er menneskenes hud. ... Hvis man kun vil læse en eneste afrikansk roman, foreslår jeg, at man læser denne suverænt fortalte, sansemættede, smukke og smertefulde historie." - Louise Windfeld-Høeberg, Weekendavisen"Chinua Achebes Alt falder fra hinanden er et afrikansk hovedværk om kultursammenstød skrevet med empati og humor. ... Romanen giver indblik i den oprindelige afrikanske kultur og er skrevet i et klart sprog med en overordnet synsvinkel. Den oftest nøgterne stil rummer en styrke, som stadig griber." - Eva Pohl, Berlingske"Læs og forstå var der nogle lærebøger i skolen, der hed. Når man har læst Alt falder fra hinanden, forstår man lidt mere om Afrikas kultur og historie. Forfatteren Chinua Achebe er så nøgtern og ryster ikke på hånden i sine beskrivelser af de voldsomme kultursammenstød - eller nærmere kulturovergreb - der finder sted. Achebe glorificerer eller fordømmer ikke hverken stammefolkene eller de hvide kristne. Han fortæller bare historien. Sproget er lavmælt, og det er netop manglen på store følelsesladede udbrud, der gør fortællingen så stærk og vedkommende. En vigtig bog, som er god at blive klog på." - Bettina Schnegelsberg-Laursen, Litteratursiden.dk"Det ville være umuligt at sige, hvordan Alt falder fra hinanden har påvirket afrikanske forfattere. Det ville være ligesom at spørge, hvordan Shakespeare har påvirket engelske forfattere eller, hvordan Pushkin har påvirket russiske." - Kwame Anthony Appiah, professor i filosofi ved Princeton University"En af de fem bøger alle bør læse mindst én gang." - Oprah Winfrey"Der var en forfatter, der hed Chinua Achebe, i hvis selskab fængselsmurene faldt ned." - Nelson Mandela

One of the BBC's '100 Novels That Shaped Our World'A worldwide bestseller and the first part of Achebe's African Trilogy, Things Fall Apart is the compelling story of one man's battle to protect his community against the forces of changeOkonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire in the harmattan. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy. First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature, and has sold over ten million copies in forty-five languages. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease.'His courage and generosity are made manifest in the work' Toni Morrison'The writer in whose company the prison walls fell down' Nelson Mandela'A great book, that bespeaks a great, brave, kind, human spirit' John UpdikeWith an Introduction by Biyi Bandele

Efter fire års studier ved et engelsk universitet vender Obi Okonkwo hjem til sit fødeland Nigeria, hvor han får en fornem stilling i administrationen. Obi er en idealistisk og moralsk ung mand med store forhåbninger til Nigerias fremtid, men han opdager hurtigt, at den udbredte korruption i landet har dybe rødder, der er svære at hugge over. Fast besluttet på at vise sig som et forbillede og ændre den herskende mentalitet modstår Obi dog ethvert forsøg på bestikkelse, men da han både støder sammen med de gamle traditioner og får økonomiske problemer, bliver det sværere og sværere for ham at modstå fristelsen. Til sidst bliver han fanget i en fælde, han ikke kan slippe ud af.Trives ej længere her er Chinua Achebes anden roman. Den udkom i 1960, som var året, hvor Nigeria opnåede selvstændighed efter i 60 år at have været under britisk herredømme. Romanens hovedperson, Obi Okonkwo, er barnebarn af hovedpersonen Ogbuefi Okonkwo i Achebes berømte debutroman Alt falder fra hinanden."Chinua Achebe løser ikke korruptionens rådne gåde, men i Trives ej længere her skildrer han tørt smilende, hvordan den langsomt og systematisk æder et retskaffent menneske op indefra. ... I efteråret udkom Chinua Achebes indtryksfulde roman Alt falder fra hinanden herhjemme. Nu udkommer den mindst lige så fængslende Trives ej længere her. Begge bøger blev oversat til dansk allerede i 1960'erne. Også dengang fik de anmelderne til at hoppe af begejstring, men siden har man skammeligt nok ikke skænket den verdensberømmede afrikanske forfatter mange tanker. Med den 83-årige Chinua Achebes død i 2013 får forfatterskabet sin anden blomstring, og de danske læsere en ny chance for at lære den enestående forfatter at kende. Grib den! Chinua Achebes skildring af den afrikanske sjæl er ubetalelig." - Henriette Bacher Lind, Jyllands-Posten"Det er en meget moralsk historie, men den er fortalt med den særlige sprødhed, der er karakteristisk for Achebe, en blanding af følsomhed og ironi, en viden, der hele tiden bæres af en bestemt form for uskyld. Man kunne kalde den 'afrikansk', fordi den rummer undren over alle de nye muligheder og en smertelig viden om, at der skal tages afsked med meget godt, dybt, mystisk og oprindeligt gammelt, før det ny kan accepteres og fungere rent." - Klaus Rifbjerg, Politiken"Glædeligt gensyn med en af Afrikas store forfattere. Denne har, ligesom Achebes øvrige romaner, moderne klassikerstatus. ... Achebe skriver i et neddæmpet, enkelt og klart sprog med en underspillet humor." - Lektørudtalelse"Der var en forfatter, der hed Chinua Achebe, i hvis selskab fængselsmurene faldt ned." - Nelson Mandela

Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Includes "Things Fall Apart", "No Longer at Ease", and "Arrow of God". In "Things Fall Apart" the individual tragedy of Okonkwo, 'strong man' and tribal elder in the Nigeria of the 1890s is intertwined with the transformation of traditional Igbo society under the impact of Christianity and colonialism.

From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes this long-awaited memoir recalling Chinua Achebe's personal experiences of and reflections on the Biafran War, one of Nigeria's most tragic civil warsChinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, was a writer whose moral courage and storytelling gifts have left an enduring stamp on world literature. There Was a Country was his long-awaited account of coming of age during the defining experience of his life: the Nigerian Civil War, also known as the Biafran War of 1967-1970. It became infamous around the world for its impact on the Biafrans, who were starved to death by the Nigerian government in one of the twentieth century's greatest humanitarian disasters. Caught up in the atrocities were Chinua Achebe and his young family. Achebe, already a world-renowned novelist, served his Biafran homeland as a roving cultural ambassador, witnessing the war's full horror first-hand. Immediately after the war, he took an academic post in the United States, and for over forty years he maintained a considered silence on those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. After years in the making There Was A Country presents his towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful experiences, both as he lived it and came to understand it. Marrying history and memoir, with the author's poetry woven throughout, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid observation and considered research and reflection. It relates Nigeria's birth pangs in the context of Achebe's own development as a man and a writer, and examines the role of the artist in times of war.Reviews:'No writer is better placed than Chinua Achebe to tell the story of the Nigerian Biafran war ... [The book] makes you pine for the likes of Achebe to govern ... We have in There Was a Country an elegy from a master storyteller who has witnessed the undulating fortunes of a nation' Noo Saro-Wiwa, Guardian'Chinua Achebe's history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer's brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature' Nadine Gordimer'Part-history, part-memoir, [Achebe's] moving account of the war is laced with anger, but there is also an abiding tone of regret for what Nigeria might have been without conflict and mismanagement' Sunday TimesAbout the author:Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He published novels, short stories, essays, and children's books. His volume of poetry, Christmas in Biafra, was the joint winner of the first Commonwealth Poetry Prize. Of his novels, Arrow of God won the New Statesman-Jock Campbell Award, and Anthills of the Savannah was a finalist for the 1987 Booker Prize. Things Fall Apart, Achebe's masterpiece, has been published in fifty different languages and has sold more than ten million copies. Achebe lectured widely, receiving many honors from around the world. He was the recipient of the Nigerian National Merit Award, Nigeria's highest award for intellectual achievement. In 2007, he won the Man Booker International Prize. He died in 2013.

Obi Okonkwo is an idealistic young man who, thanks to the privileges of an education in Britain, has now returned to Nigeria for a job in the civil service. However in his new role he finds that the way of government seems to be backhanders and corruption. Obi manages to resist the bribes that are offered to him, but when he falls in love with an unsuitable girl - to the disapproval of his parents - he sinks further into emotional and financial turmoil. The lure of easy money becomes harder to refuse, and Obi becomes caught in a trap he cannot escape. Showing a man lost in cultural limbo, and a Nigeria entering a new age of disillusionment, No Longer at Ease concludes Achebe's remarkable trilogy charting three generations of an African community under the impact of colonialism, the first two volumes of which are Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.

'[The writer] in whose company the prison walls fell down' - Nelson Mandela. After a long silence Achebe published in 1987 what many see as his greatest work - an acrid, frightening look at oil-boom Nigeria, a world of robberies, road blocks and intimidation in which those who are meant to be protecting a country's citizens are in reality supervising the looting.

One of a series of fiction titles for schools. Okonkwo, a man of the Ibo tribe in Nigeria at the end of the last century, is a person of substance, character and promise, but he and his people are doomed to be destroyed - both from within the tribe and by the arrival of the white man.

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"Okonkwo es un gran guerrero, cuya fama se extiende por toda el âAfrica Occidental, pero cuando mata accidentalmente a un prohombre de su clan es obligado a expiar su culpa con el sacrificio de su hijastro y el exilio. Cuando por fin puede regresar a su aldea, la encuentra repleta de misioneros y gobernadores britâanicos; su mundo se desintegra, y âel no puede mâas que precipitarse hacia la tragedia. Publicada por vez primera en 1958, y desde entonces ha vendido mâas de diez millones de ejemplares en cuarenta y cinco idiomas"--Page 4 of cover.

The more Chike saw the ferry-boats the more he wanted to make the trip to Asaba. But where would he get the money? He did not know. Still, he hoped.Eleven-year-old Chike longs to cross the Niger River to the city of Asaba, but he doesn't have the sixpence he needs to pay for the ferry ride. With the help of his friend S.M.O.G., he embarks on a series of adventures to help him get there. Along the way, he is exposed to a range of new experiences that are both thrilling and terrifying, from eating his first skewer of suya under the shade of a mango tree, to visiting the village magician who promises to double the money in his pocket. Once he finally makes it across the river, Chike realizes that life on the other side is far different from his expectations, and he must find the courage within him to make it home. Chike and the River is a magical tale of boundaries, bravery, and growth, by Chinua Achebe, one of the world's most beloved and admired storytellers.

From one of the greatest writers of the modern era, an intimate and essential collection of personal essays on home, identity, and colonialismChinua Achebe's characteristically eloquent and nuanced voice is everywhere present in these seventeen beautifully written pieces. From a vivid portrait of growing up in colonial Nigeria to considerations on the African-American Diaspora, from a glimpse into his extraordinary family life and his thoughts on the potent symbolism of President Obama's elections-this charmingly personal, intellectually disciplined, and steadfastly wise collection is an indispensable addition to the remarkable Achebe oeuvre.

Here, collected for the first time in Everyman's Library, are the three internationally acclaimed classic novels that comprise what has come to be known as Chinua Achebe's "African Trilogy.”Beginning with the best-selling Things Fall Apart—on the heels of its fiftieth anniversary—The African Trilogy captures a society caught between its traditional roots and the demands of a rapidly changing world. Achebe's most famous novel introduces us to Okonkwo, an important member of the Igbo people, who fails to adjust as his village is colonized by the British. In No Longer at Ease we meet his grandson, Obi Okonkwo, a young man who was sent to a university in England and has returned, only to clash with the ruling elite to which he now believes he belongs. Arrow of God tells the story of Ezuelu, the chief priest of several Nigerian villages, and his battle with Christian missionaries.In these masterful novels, Achebe brilliantly sets universal tales of personal and moral struggle in the context of the tragic drama of colonization.

"The father of African literature in the English language and undoubtedly one of the most important writers of the second half of the twentieth century." --Caryl Phillips, The ObserverChinua Achebe's award-winning poems are marked by a subtle richness and the political acuity and moral vision that are a signature of all of his work. Focused and powerful, and suffused with wisdom and compassion, Collected Poems is further evidence of this great writer's sublime gifts and it is an essential part of the oeuvre of a giant of world literature.

Achebe's first novel portrays the collision of African and European cultures in people's lives. Okonkwo, a great man in Igbo traditional society, cannot adapt to the profound changes brought about by British colonial rule. Yet, as in classic tragedy, Okonkwo's downfall results from his own character as well as from external forces.

Twelve stories by the internationally renowned novelist which recreate with energy and authenticity the major social and political issues that confront contemporary Africans on a daily basis.

One of the most provocative and original voices in contemporary literature, Chinua Achebe here considers the place of literature and art in our society in a collection of essays spanning his best writing and lectures from the last twenty-three years. For Achebe, overcoming goes hand in hand with eradicating the destructive effects of racism and injustice in Western society. He reveals the impediments that still stand in the way of open, equal dialogue between Africans and Europeans, between blacks and whites, but also instills us with hope that they will soon be overcome.

Achebe's masterpiece tells the story of Okonkwo, strongman of an Ibo village in Nigeria, as he witnesses the destruction of his culture and the loss of his own place within it.

From the legendary author of Things Fall Aparta long-awaited memoir of coming of age in a fragile new nation, and its destruction in a tragic civil warFor more than forty years, Chinua Achebe maintained a considered silence on the events of the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 19671970, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Decades in the making, There Was a Country isa towering account of one of modern Africa's most disastrous events, from a writer whose words and courage left an enduring stamp on world literature. A marriage of history and memoir, vivid firsthand observation and decades of research and reflection, There Was a Country is a work whose wisdom and compassion remind us of Chinua Achebe's place as one of the great literary and moral voices of our age.

Chinua Achebe is considered the father of modern African literature, the writer who "e;opened the magic casements of African fiction."e; The African Trilogy--comprised of Things Fall Apart, Arrow of God, and No Longer at Ease--is his magnum opus. In these masterly novels, Achebe brilliantly imagines the lives of three generations of an African community as their world is upended by the forces of colonialism from the first arrival of the British to the waning days of empire.The trilogy opens with the groundbreaking Things Fall Apart, the tale of Okonkwo, a hero in his village, whose clashes with missionaries--coupled with his own tragic pride--lead to his fall from grace. Arrow of God takes up the ongoing conflict between continuity and change as Ezeulu, the headstrong chief priest, finds his authority is under threat from rivals and colonial functionaries. But he believes himself to be untouchable and is determined to lead his people, even if it is towards their own destruction. Finally, in No Longer at Ease, Okonkwo's grandson, educated in England, returns to a civil-service job in Lagos, only to see his morality erode as he clings to his membership in the ruling elite.Drawing on the traditional Igbo tales of Achebe's youth, The African Trilogy is a literary landmark, a mythic and universal tale of modern Africa. As Toni Morrison wrote, "e;African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe. For passion, intellect and crystalline prose, he is unsurpassed."e;

This novel about Nigeria prophesied the 1983 coup.