January 16, 2003

"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe: Rarely had the African village of Umuofia seen a man like Okonkwo. Born of the lazy, listless Unoka, Okonkwo dedicated himself to a life of fierce discipline so as not to follow his father's disrespectful path. Where his father was weak, Okonkwo was strong. He worked tirelessly to prove himself his own man. He earned great fame as a wrestler and warrior, and worked the fields tirelessly to produce a bountiful crop of yams to support his three wives and eight children. Even at a young age, Okonkwo was respected as much as any of the village elders.

Yet Okonkwo's drive to succeed had its downside. He was of short temper and prone to violent outbursts. The feelings of his family, and even the rules and traditions of the tribe itself, were given little consideration when Okonkwo decided to act. All that mattered was doing what was right. It was always important to do what was right and, in the process, distance himself from his father.

Okonkwo's strict world is first shaken by the death of Ikemefuna, a young boy who came to live with Okonkwo's family after being offered as sacrifice by a neighboring village as part of a penalty for the killing of a Umuofia girl. Ikemefuna lived amongst Okonkwo's own for three years while the village decided his fate. He was a bright, kind boy that grew to be the dearest friend of Nwoye, Okonkwo's eldest son. Ikemefuna was thought of as a brother and son by Okonkwo's wives and children. Even Okonkwo himself felt an attachment to the boy. But when the elders decided it was time for Ikemefuna to be sacrificed, Okonkwo not only failed to protest, he dealt the killing blow with his own machete.

Ikemefuna's death seems to loosen Okonkwo's hold on life. Things begin to fall from his control. An unexpected event forces him into exile from the tribe, Nwoye turns against him, and even the very existence of Okonkwo's world, his and all the surrounding African villages, are threatened by the arrival of white missionaries preaching Christianity.

Okonkwo's story is told in three sections; the introduction, his exile, and his return to Umuofia. Mr. Achebe employs a simple, straightforward style of writing that borders on the poetic. This really is a tale of religion and shared beliefs, as the African way is besieged by Christianity. The rules by which Okonkwo lived, and held so dear, are tossed aside as foolishness. He and his other tribesmen are no longer respected, but seen as savages; mere faceless, nameless casualties of the white man's burden.

As good as this book is, and it's very good, there always seemed to be that little something missing. It's in the characters of Okonkwo's wives and children that the absence is most noticeable. Just when it seems as though there's going to be some true understanding of them, or they're going to breath life of their own, they get pushed to the side and forgotten. As for the actual nuts and bolts of the book, some imagery does get repeated, cheapening its value, and there's at least one instance of a colloquialism that seems out of place, stealing authenticity from a moment. Still, all in all, this is a very solid effort.

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"The Optimist's Daughter" by Eudora Welty: Laurel McKelva Hand is a widowed designer in Chicago, living a life far different than the one she began in the Mississippi of her youth. Her husband died during the War not more than a year after their marriage. Her mother has been dead for some years, succumbing after a long, painful illness that began with her eye and stole her mind by the time it was through. So when Laurel gets word that her father is beginning to have vision problems of his own, and is set for surgery, she is quick to return to his side.

Judge Clinton McKelva, one of the most admired men of Mount Salus, Mississippi, has remarried since the death of Laurel's mother. Fay, his second wife, is at least 30 years his junior and has no redeeming qualities of note. She comes from poor Texas roots and is the kind of flighty, empty-headed gold digger that only exists in bad novels or real life.

The Judge, always the loyal sort, insists on being operated on by a former Mount Salus doctor and neighbor, who he helped put through medical school, even though it means a trip to New Orleans. The eye surgery itself goes well. It's the weeks of recovering, not being able to move at all as time heals, that takes its toll on the old man. While the eye is mending, nothing can restore the Judge's will to live. He's had his fill.

Laurel and Fay return to Mount Salus with the body and are greeted by seemingly everyone in town. And let me say this about the citizens of Mount Salus... annoying as all hell. They make Mayberry seem like a Mensa gathering. But it gets worse. Fay's relatives come in from Texas and bring new meaning to the term "white trash." It's hard to express just how brutal this book is during the scenes back in Mount Salus. "Excruciating" is the only word that comes to mind.

The lone saving grace is towards the end when Laurel is left alone in her childhood home to reflect upon her parents and husband. It's only in these all-too-brief moments that "The Optimist's Daughter" is of any importance. One would have to be an optimist to even reach for this book.

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