Chinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82 (2013) | Hacker News Reader

Chinua Achebe, African Literary Titan, Dies at 82 (2013)

nytimes.com

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Chinua Achebe died 2 years ago.

The ending of Things Fall Apart was one of the most emotionally impactful endings in such a brief manner that I've ever read:

"Obierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend’s dangling body, turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” He could not say any more. His voice trembled and choked his words."

Even now as I search for the quote I'm amazed after two years I can still remember the exact wording -- 'he will be buried like a dog'. Rest in peace, this wonderful author.

Is he implying that the way dog is being buried is typically disrespectful?

Dogs don't have ceremony rites. In Igbo culture, when a prominent man dies, his burial is a ceremony that can last for days, cows are slaughtered, friends he has made across life drop everything they are doing and come for the funeral. It's a feast with as many as a thousand people. When a man kills himself by hanging himself, it's a shameful thing and the funeral is without fanfare.

Yes, If I may: in countries like Africa, dogs are usually on their own (even if they are nominally someone's pet) and quite often get run over on the road. They are left there to rot before someone buries them or throws them over to rot elsewhere without affecting traffic or roadside business. It is undignified for dogs, especially so for humans.

Countries like Africa?

sema Okal, huyu jamaa anajifanya anajua kumbe ni ujinga wake anaonyesha.

Oh my! That was harsh and cleverly concealed too! My observation was lost in translation. I have nothing against Africa. I read Achebe and consider Things Fall Apart to be one of the best books I have read along with Hundred Years of Solitude.

I didn't personally read any malice into your comment, for whatever it's worth. Sorry if my comment made your day less pleasant. I could have made my point more kindly.

[2013]

This article has been popping up on Facebook today as well. On the plus side, not very many people get the world to pay attention to their passing twice. The social media age is weird.

No kidding. That's so weird we didn't even think to look at the date like we usually do. I'm embarrassed not to have remembered that Achebe had died a while ago.

Years before I read the novel, I actually saw his "Things Fall Apart" performed as a play when I was a kid living in Lagos in the early 90s. The novel itself may not be the best fiction ever written by an African author, but it's the most widely known novel to come out of Africa and does a great job of highlighting the harsh transition to colonialism.

"most widely known novel to come out of Africa" [Citation needed]

Well, it is the only one I know of off the top of my head. And I've lived in Africa for close to two decades.

Granted, I'm not big into literature, so that may have something to do with it as well. Though I do view it as some sort of "cut-off" filter, anyways.

"Known by whom?", is what I should have asked. The claim makes assumptions about its audience that simply have no way of being substantiated.

I can't think of any other likely candidate for that "title".

And I'm into litterature. And I'm Francophone (which makes me more likely to consider non-anglophone litterature).

Great intro to his work — Crash Course lectures by John Green:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1Kw94qjdQA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyvDYZ6hJNA

checking dates, as relevant now as it was in 2013

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