Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe. Rating = 5

from the back cover, which says it best:

A simple story of a 'strong man' whose life is dominated by fear and anger, Things Fall Apart is written with remarkable economy and subtle irony. Uniquely and richly African, at the same time it reveals Achebe's keen awareness of the human qualities common to men of all times and places.

The title is from W. B. Yeats' poem "The Second Coming":

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

this is an amazing book. it is very simply told but the characters and the setting are very vivid. the ending is possibly one of the best endings of a book that I've ever read. it's only 200 pages, and you should read it. heck, it first published in the US in 1959 and still sells more than one hundred thousand copies a year---for good reason!

I give it a 5.

fun quote for those of us who are fond of translators ;) :

When they had all gathered, the white man began to speak to them. He spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man, though his dialect was different and harsh to the ears of Mbanta. Many people laughed at his dialect and the way he used words strangely. Instead of saying "myself" he always said "my buttocks." But he was a man of commanding presence and the clansmen listened to him. (pg. 144)

too funny :)