Chinua Achebe: The Lion Sleeps Tonight

I was very saddened this morning to hear of the death of Chinua Achebe. Often called the grandfather of African literature (a descriptor that I find insulting, but never mind), he was undoubtedly one of the main players in bringing writing from that part of the world into the popular reading consciousness. I have only read two of his works - Things Fall Apart (of course) and A Man Of The People. Both were amazing. It is sad that it will take his death for me to delve further into the back catalogue. Luckily I have several more of his books on my shelf, including the last one published in his lifetime, a memoir of the Nigerian Civil War.

Although he never won a Nobel Prize, Achebe did win the second ever Man Booker International Prize. It might seem only a small consolation, but there is a strong case to be made for the International Booker being more meaningful given that it routinely picks much more deserving candidates than its Swedish counterpart (Ismail Kadare and Philip Roth, both of whom ought to have won the Nobel by now, have also been recipients).

Achebe was one of the last in a generation of great writers. Sad to say we are losing them faster than we are producing 'replacements'. His contribution to world literature cannot be understated, and at only 82, I suspect he still had much to tell us. Rumour has it there is still a novella to come. I hope that's right. I'm not quite ready to say goodbye.