Books Like Things Fall Apart.
Things Fall Apart earned its place as the founding text of modern African literature in English by refusing to treat precolonial African society as simple or static before showing, in unflinching detail, what colonialism actually did to it. Here are five more novels working in that same tradition, across different regions and generations.
1. The Concubine by Elechi Amadi
Set in a Nigerian village before colonial contact, this novel follows Ihuoma, a woman of remarkable beauty and grace whose suitors keep dying under mysterious circumstances, in a story steeped in Igbo cosmology and belief. Often read as a direct companion to Things Fall Apart, since it depicts precolonial Igbo life on its own terms, without a single colonial character appearing in the entire novel.
2. The River Between by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Two neighboring Gikuyu villages in colonial era Kenya are divided by a river and by a deeper rift over whether to accept or resist Christian missionary influence, with a young man caught trying to bridge both worlds. Ngũgĩ's early novel shares Things Fall Apart's interest in a community fracturing under religious and cultural pressure from outside, though set in East rather than West Africa.
3. Kintu by Jennifer Nsubuga Makumbi
An epic, multigenerational curse follows the descendants of an eighteenth century Ugandan clan leader across centuries, weaving precolonial Buganda kingdom history, colonial disruption, and the present day into a single sprawling family saga. Ambitious in scope in a way that extends Things Fall Apart's basic project, taking African history seriously as a subject worthy of the same narrative weight given to European history.
4. Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Set in colonial era Rhodesia, this novel follows a young girl named Tambudzai as she gets a rare chance at an English style mission school education, and grapples with what that opportunity costs her sense of identity and belonging. Where Things Fall Apart shows colonialism arriving and disrupting an existing order, Nervous Conditions shows a generation already raised inside its aftermath, negotiating what's been gained and lost.
5. No Longer at Ease by Chinua Achebe
Achebe's own sequel, following Okonkwo's grandson Obi, a young Nigerian who returns home after studying in England, armed with a British education and modern ideals, only to find himself crushed between traditional village expectations and the corrupt realities of colonial era civil service in Lagos. The most direct continuation available, completing the three generation arc Things Fall Apart begins.
Where to Find These Books in Kenya
All the titles above are in stock at Readers' Republik, with delivery across Nairobi and the rest of Kenya. Explore more in these collections:
Frequently Asked Questions.
Which of these books is the most direct sequel or continuation of Things Fall Apart? No Longer at Ease, Achebe's own follow up, following Okonkwo's grandson a generation later. It's sometimes published together with Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God as The African Trilogy.
Which of these books is set entirely before colonial contact, like the first half of Things Fall Apart? The Concubine is the closest match, set in a Nigerian village with no colonial presence at all in the story.
Which of these books covers the widest span of history? Kintu, spanning from the eighteenth century Buganda kingdom through to the present day, covers by far the longest timeline of any book on this list.
Which of these books is set outside West Africa? The River Between is set in colonial era Kenya, and Kintu is set in Uganda, both offering an East African counterpart to Things Fall Apart's West African setting.
Do I need to read Things Fall Apart before these books? No, each of these stands entirely on its own, though No Longer at Ease will carry more weight if you already know Okonkwo's story from Things Fall Apart first.