Home and exile
by Chinua Achebe
- 12 Want to read
- 1 Currently reading
- 2 Have read
"Here is an extended exploration of the European impact on African culture, viewed through the most vivid experience available to the author - his own life. It is an evocative snapshot of a major writer's childhood, illuminating his roots as an artist. Achebe discusses his English education and the relationship between colonial writers and the European literary tradition.
He argues that if colonial writers try to imitate and, indeed, go one better than the Empire, they run the danger of undervaluing their homeland and their own people. Achebe contends that to redress the inequities of global oppression, writers must focus on where they come from, insisting that their value systems are as legitimate as any other. Stories are a real source of power in the world, he concludes, and to imitate the literature of another culture is to give that power away."--BOOK JACKET.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Exiles, Western influences, Nigerian Authors, Nigerians, Civilization, Nigerian Novelists, Intellectual life, Biography, Influence occidentale, Biographies, Écrivains nigériens, Autobiografie, Nigeria, Civilisation, Vie intellectuelle, Nigérians, Exilés, Letterkunde, Cultuurcontact, Novels (form), 18.07 English literature outside Europe and the USA, Identiteit, Kolonialisme, Achebe, chinua, 1930-2013, Authors, biography, Africa, civilization, Africa, intellectual life, Africans, united states, New York Times reviewedPeople
Chinua AchebePlaces
Nigeria, United States, AfricaTimes
20th centuryShowing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
| Edition | Availability |
|---|---|
1
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Edition Notes
Includes bibliographical references (p. 107-109) and index.
Based on the 1998 McMillan-Stewart Lectures at Harvard University.
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Scriblio MARC recordLibrary of Congress MARC record
Ithaca College Library MARC record
Internet Archive item record
marc_openlibraries_phillipsacademy MARC record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
Marygrove College MARC record
Better World Books record
Library of Congress MARC record
marc_nuls MARC record
marc_columbia MARC record
Work Description
More personally revealing than anything Achebe has written, Home and Exile-the great Nigerian novelist's first book in more than ten years-is a major statement on the importance of stories as real sources of power, especially for those whose stories have traditionally been told by outsiders.
In three elegant essays, Achebe seeks to rescue African culture from narratives written about it by Europeans. Looking through the prism of his experiences as a student in English schools in Nigeria, he provides devastating examples of European cultural imperialism. He examines the impact that his novel Things Fall Apart had on efforts to reclaim Africa's story. And he argues for the importance of writing and living the African experience because, he believes, Africa needs stories told by Africans.
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?Lists
See All
-
BIO/AUTO
from Henry Kite
| January 16, 2023 | Edited by Lisa | move to correct author |
| August 6, 2021 | Edited by New York Times Bestsellers Bot | Add NYT review links |
| July 31, 2020 | Edited by ImportBot | import existing book |
| February 14, 2020 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
| December 9, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |