Humble beginnings of Chinua Achebe’s ‘Things Fall Apart’
As with so many things, the success of Nigerian author Chinua Achebe is best understood in reverse. One of the most influential writers of the 20th century began his career at 28 with a novel that was anything but an instant classic Chinua Achebe (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle) Achebe, who died recently at 82, is best known for the impact he made on the world’s understanding of Africa with his first book, “Things Fall Apart.” In its obituary of Achebe, the Associated Press notes that the novel was rejected multiple times , and that only 2,000 copies of the first edition were printed. Its initial review in The New York Times ran less than 500 words, but the novel soon became among the most important books of the 20th century, a universally acknowledged starting point for postcolonial, indigenous African fiction , the prophetic union of British letters and African oral culture . …“Things Fall Apart” has sold more than 8 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 l...