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I came across this book after reading Chigozie obioma's "The Fishermen" and the NYTimes review that branded the debut author "the heir to Achebe." i turn to Achebe, "The father of African literature" and find him very deft and almost preternatural in this portrayal of the happenings around the village of Umufa in the era of African colonialism. Okonkwo might be one of the most eccentric characters I've ever read about in fiction. He is indeed a strong man who rules his house with a "strong arm." When he is faced with his quick-changing community, he tries to save the people. But it was too late. The whiteman had brought in the division, sown the seed of discord amongst the tribesmen, and there was nothing the strong man, now without the support of his tribesmen, stands alone.

The allusion to this story made in Obioma's "The Fishermen" is even clearer after reading this book. The brother's are divided because of the prophecies of the lunatic, much as the white man does to the people. Okonkwo pays the ultimate price in the end, the price of his own life.