Literary Stuff

My friend Carol leant me Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart". I read it on the journey from Manchester to Amsterdam and finished it in a wonderful Sardinian restaurant in Amsterdam. Dining alone is a pleasure when one has a great book and great food. The book describes the trials and tribulations of a 'noble savage', Okonkwo - very much a la Rouseaux. I felt that it was 'A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch' meets Evelyn Waugh's 'Decline and Fall'. Hearing 'The Other' is almost a postmodern cliche; but for WASPS everywhere I recommend this book as an aid to understanding many intertwining themes- relationships, power, motivation, celebrity and, in the end, nobility. For what it's worth, I felt that Okonkwo hung himself (assuming that he did) for the right reasons. Which of us would be so noble?