Arrow of God

"Arrow of God" is another excellent novel by the world renowned Chinua Achebe. I have read this novel perhaps five times, having first read it decades ago. I still get thrilled and marvel at the ability of Chinua Achebe to tell a good story that keeps the reader wanting to read more. I have also read "Things Fall Apart" and "Man of the People", which are all excellent reading for those interested in African literature. The story is set in a traditional Igbo village in Western Nigeria where the author traces how the age old traditions that had stood the test of time were systematically eroded by colonial rule. An important lesson we learn is that we need to change with the times and be adaptive to the constant changes, otherwise we perish. This is a well written book by a remarkable author that is very interesting to read as well as enlightening.

I know that many people have read Things Fall Apart, but that is not his greatest novel. I was not forced to read any of his books. I was just curious. It exposed me to some of the greatest literature I could ever have known. Arrow of God is by far my favorite Achebe book. So if you think Things Fall Apart is good, Arrow of God is so much deeper. You get to know the characters so much better. You feel like you are part of the scene. It is more personal. You see more into different people's lives. I read a lot of books. This one is one of my favorite.

Like Chinua Achebe's first novel (Things Fall Apart), Arrow of God takes us back to the traditional village culture of the Igbo nation in Western Nigeria, tracing its destruction under British colonial rule. Once again, too, the story centers on a tribal elder who embodies the old ways so profoundly that he will be destroyed along with them. Achebe uses fiction to do what ethnology can never accomplish: to take us "inside" an indigenous culture, letting us see and feel how its customs and beliefs support the rhythms of daily living. With an extraordinary blend of sympathy and detachment, he captures the human tragedy in the destruction of a way of life.

Being Igbo, and having read almost all that Chinua Achebe has written, I can say that this is one of the best literary works I have ever come across. I read Arrow of God for the firs time when I was about fourteen and even at that age, it made a great impression on me. I have read it repeatedly over the years, and with each read, the raw reality of this book thinly veiled by what another reviewer reffered to as "polite prose" completely immersed me in Ezeulu's society, generation and struggle. This was a wonderful story written by one of the greatest story-tellers ever. I recommend this book and all of Chinua Achebe's work to any and everyone.

In response to our young friend who was so insidiously "forced" to read Mr. Achebe's works in a 10th-grade English class, I can say this: Since most products of American high schools are so terribly unaccustomed to thought, I'm afraid you really don't know (yet) what you're missing. My first experience with Mr. Achebe was "Things Fall Apart." My response, at age 15, was not much different than yours. However, the characters somehow stayed with me. Don't ask me why--perhaps I always wanted to know what happened to Okonkwo (I never finished it the first time). Ten years later, when I found the book in a Burlington, VT second-hand bookstore, I decided to try it again. Within weeks, I had read and re-read the simple, "polite" prose with great curiosity and awareness. Achebe doesn't fill his stories up with muck like so much MTV-style Hollywood mung. He asks something of his audience; writing about the bitter, yet ultimately unavoidable end to a cultural identity with which most anybody can sympathize. All the while, he refrains from employing flowery rhetoric and ambiguity, instead choosing honesty and simplicity. The message of his writings about the Ibo is, if anything, that nothing lasts forever. Thankfully, this means the MTV generation won't always need to be lead by the hand with flashy prose and speed-of-light transitions. Here's to the thinkers!!