Depressing story, opens with the ending and it's depressing and then the rest of the book only rarely lets up. About the difference between "old" and "new" society in Nigeria in the time around independence and the contradictions opened up between the newly educated and the older generation excluded from the "new society" (kind of) But even the main character doesn't know how to properly move through the new official world, despite his English education. Covers a lot of ground and is interesting but yeah it's sad

It ends kind of abruptly but I guess it makes sense that once he's lost pretty much everything that gives him meaning there's no point in delaying the inevitable

Also this is the second in the trilogy, I didn't read the first yet but it's not a huge deal if you read them out of order I think but I want to mention that the Penguin modern classics version claims it's the final part of the trilogy. Shoddy ( )

This novel opens with Nigerian civil servant Obi Okonkwo in the dock for taking a bribe. The rest of the novel tells us how he got there. Achebe explores the clash of cultures between Nigerians and British colonial administrators, with Obi as a tragic hero. Readers will come away with a better understanding of the negative effects of colonialism and the cultural tensions in the years leading up to Nigerian independence. ( )

I remember the first book being much more difficult to read. Although it's been pointed out to me that I was much much younger when I read it. In any case, this second book was excellent too. ( )

Set in 1950s Nigeria, two generations after his first book, Things Fall Apart. Where the first novel tracked the dismantling of culture and village life after the arrival of English missionaries, the second traces the adaptation to European ways of life and the systemic constraints for all individuals. ( )

Obi Okonkwo, el nieto del protagonista de Todo se desmorona, regresa a Lagos lleno de ideas y nobles principios tras estudiar en Gran Bretaña. Pero pronto severá forzado a moderar sus valores morales y sucumbir a las presiones de la sociedad corrupta de su país.
Obi Okonkwo es un joven idealista que, gracias a los privilegios de haberse formado en Inglaterra, regresa a Nigeria para trabajar en la administración pública. Sin embargo, se encuentra con un gobierno que opera con maniobras sucias y sobornos. Cuando -para disgusto de sus padres- se enamora de la muchacha equivocada, se sumerge en un caos emocional y económico. El dinero fácil es ahora irrechazable, y Obi cae en una trampa de la que le resultará muy difícil escapar.