Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe
Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This novel follows Things Fall Apart in time sequence and offers a look at a later period of the history of the Ten Towns, after the British have become more established in this region of Africa but before the extreme alterations of the homegrown culture of the Igbo people. Here Achebe tells the story of Ezeulu, whom he refers to in his preface as “that magnificent man,” the priest who carries the god Ulu inside him and who lives as the presence of the god among the Ten Towns. This notion of divinity as being present and tangible within the circle of believers is one of the most fascinating in the novel and in the culture that it describes. In the long ago the Ten Towns performed a powerful magic that brought Ulu into being as their supreme deity, and the story of his creation is part of the tapestry of their tales and history. This idea is a window on the interplay of spirit, world, and cosmos that overlies the people of the towns; there is no contradiction in the notion that a god can be created by his worshipers but nevertheless be a god and partake of eternity. This is simply how the universe works. The culture of the Igbo is beautiful and complicated and belies any notion to the contrary – contradicting Western notions of what is savage or barbarian. The most beautiful moments of the book are the conversations as they veer from tale to proverb to history; the debates among the elders are the most lovely moments. These people share a common knowledge base that makes certain ideas like bedrock – what a father says to a son cannot be a lie, for instance. The final conflict between Ulu and the British unfolds with a deep blindness from both sides. This is a very beautiful novel if you open yourself to the way these people communicate with each other. It defies description; it is not a critique or condemnation; it simply presents events and allows them to unfold.