Literature & Postcolonial Thought
Chinua Achebe
The Storyteller Who Rewrote the World
Where to Start Reading
Things Fall Apart
A village, a proud man, and the arrival of colonialism. Short, devastatingly precise, and structurally perfect. It makes the interior life of a colonised community undeniable — and it does it in under 200 pages.
No Longer at Ease
The sequel — set in 1950s Lagos, following the grandson of Things Fall Apart's protagonist. A novel about corruption, compromise, and the impossible position of the educated colonial subject. Shorter and sharper than the first.
The Education of a British-Protected Child
Achebe's memoir-in-essays. Covers his childhood, his writing, his debates with Conrad and Ngugi, and the Biafran War. The most direct access to how he thought about storytelling, politics, and identity.
“Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.”