Things Fall Apart/Chinua Achebe

I have a fascination for Africa and I thought I'd share with you one of my favourite books on Africa.

Things Fall Apart tells the story of a pre-colonial Africa. Of a time when the white man was yet to set foot on the dark continent and change it irreparably for ever. It talks of the tribal traditions, superstitions, culture and way of life. And it tells it like a traditional tribal storyteller. It is as if you are seated around a bonfire at night, sitting rapt and enthralled, as the ancient teller of tales recounts the history of the tribe.

There are a few lines I can never forget. A tribal woman sings her child to sleep with a traditional Ibo song:
"For whom is it good? For whom is it good?
There is nobody for whom it is good."

Chinua Achebe provides a very African view of Africa. For a South Asian view of Africa, I recommend VS Naipaul's A Bend In The River and In A Free State. And for a warm-hearted look at a continent ravaged by AIDS and civil wars, read the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith.