Chinua Achebe

He won today that strange new prize called the International booker prize. http://www.manbookerinternational.com/medi...ase.php?r=12#12

Always wanted to read Things fall apart but as with Mrs. Gordimer I could never rouse enough interest to actually buy it.

Things Fall Apart is interesting. It really doesn't read like Western literature. I think you'd like it onefat. Achebe's famous critique of Conrad's Heart of Darkness is worth reading too, even if I don't totally agree with it.

Achebe strikes me as a pretty sound choice from the list they had. I would have liked Rushdie to win it, but I'm fine with Achebe.

Nigeria seems to be flavour of the month at the moment, what with Adichie winning the Orange prize last week.

And check out this fantastic photo of Achebe:

Oh he's wearing that ugly-ass Mandela shirt. *shudders*

I barely registered the shirt. All I saw was gravitas.

I'm only posting this inadequate review by way of some attonement for my previous dismissal of Achebe's TFA...No Longer At Ease struck a chord, as well as rectified my misjusdgement of his strength as a writer. IMHO, Things Falls Apart NEEDS to be read in conjunction with NLAE.

http://windsweptfiction.wordpress.com/2009...-chinua-achebe/


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Aaron Bady on Achebe's central role in defining African literature (w/ photos!):
http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/t...a_achebe_wears/