The Retort

Chinua Achebe Publishes his First Memoir

December 10th, 2010 by Jennifer Otis For The Retort

Nearly a decade has passed since Chinua Achebe has published any of his work, and 52 years have gone by since the release of his most famous book. At 80 years old, Achebe’s newest work, The Education of a British-Protected Child: Essays, is a memoir of sorts, spanning his extraordinary life and well-known career. A collection of seventeen pieces, which, rather than essays, are actually revisions of speeches that he has given over the past few decades. The preface relays the story of his 2008 visit to his homeland of Nigeria, a trip made on the fiftieth anniversary of his most famous work, Things Fall Apart.

I chose to review this book because I remember enjoying Achebe’s work in a high school honors English class. I found it fascinating to discover more personal details about the author, as well as his political views, worldly observations, and vastly diverse experiences. With this new perspective on Achebe, I will definitely revisit Things Fall Apart, and undoubted come away with a whole new outlook on it.