Lamenting Colonial Destruction in "Things Fall Apart"

In the new year I am trying to read more non-Western literature, which led me to Chinua Achebe's debut novel, Things Fall Apart. I didn't even check the description of this book prior to reading it and had no idea what to expect from the writing or storyline.

The first book in The African Trilogy, Things Fall Apart is set in pre-colonial Nigeria and tells the tale of a proud yet respected man named Okonkwo. A great warrior ruled by anger and fear, Okonkwo is deeply disturbed by the unexpected arrival of European missionaries, and the novel recounts his tragic downfall that soon follows.

Admittedly this "central" plot line of the novel spans only the last third of the book, with the majority of the story comprising of building characters and setting. Nevertheless, in Things Fall Apart Achebe offers a rare glance into colonization and European missionary ventures from the unique perspective of the colonized and subjugated. The novel forces readers to reckon with the destructive consequences of colonialism, which decimated the very fabric of cultures and communities.

Things Fall Apart is a lament of that which was lost by the arrival of Europeans in the African continent, with Okonkwo's life symbolizing the calamitous internal turmoil experienced by colonized peoples. From a broader perspective, the book also represents the destructive consequences of the pursuit of power and security, on the level of both the individual and society.