Aferoj Disfalas, Achebe (1958)

Things Fall Apart (1958) by Chinua Achebe tells a story set in tribal Africa, during the course of which its setting comes under British dominion. It is a good story, well told, and one worth reading. Aferoj disfalas is its recent Esperanto translation by Anna Löwenstein.

In choosing this book to read, my goal was to practice the language, and this turned out to be a good choice. I sought to select a real book — one not written for language instruction — one that was novel-length but short enough to ensure it would not exceed my interest or patience; one that was hard enough to use in sharpening one's skill but not so hard as to grate: easy enough to permit (mostly) smooth reading. These things I found.

The greatest difficulty arose from the use of unusual words particular to African village life and the use of Igbo words directly, in cases where these were the most suitable words to use. The appended glossary was useful and these elements of the story should deter no one who, like me, would choose this novel as a companion to their language learning.