No Longer at Ease

As financial and romantic pressures continue to mount and his beloved mother sickens and dies, Obi must also deal with temptation, offers of money and sex if he will use his position to assist scholarship applicants. For as long as he can, Obi juggles all of these problems, but gradually they come crashing down on him.

More directly than almost any author I'm aware of, Chinua Achebe faces head on the issues which confront the developing nations in a post-Colonial world. In No Longer At Ease, even as he pokes fun at the remaining English bureaucrats and their condescending ways, he honors their tradition of relatively honest civil service. Meanwhile, he questions whether at least this first generation of natives who are replacing the departing Europeans are truly prepared to meet the same standards or whether a slide into corruption is nearly inevitable.

Obi is a decent enough man and he has the best of intentions, but he gets in way over his head, bringing tragedy down upon himself and disgrace to his village. His situation, as portrayed by Achebe--caught between the traditions and expectations of his village on the one hand and the modern ways and legal constraints of the West on the other--puts him in an untenable position, one where something must give. The title of the book comes from T. S. Eliots's The Journey of the Magi :

We returned to our places, these Kingdoms, But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, With an alien people clutching their gods. I should be glad of another death.

Achebe offers a fully realized portrait of one of those returned who are "no longer at ease," aliens in their own country. It's a terrific book.

GRADE : A


First-rate literature   November 9, 2000
Edward Bosnar (Zagreb, Croatia)
30 out of 34 found this review helpful

"No Longer At Ease" deals with a theme that is well-developed by Achebe, i.e. the exploration of the interaction between rapid modernization (or, better stated, Westernization) brought to Africa by colonial (mis)rule on the one hand, and tradition on the other. I actually think this book is better than "Things Fall Apart," in which Achebe depicts the brutality of the outright conquest of an African society by a colonial power (in this case the British). In "No Longer At Ease" he shows the deep and drastic changes which occurred in society in Nigeria as colonial rule became established, and how this change warped social relations in the country. Society in the colony is no longer something created and maintained by the native Africans, but rather an imitation (or attempt thereof) of the colonial power's society. It lies somwhere in between, because it's not traditional, yet the natives are treated like second-class citizens in their own country. Through the central character, Achebe does an excellent job of evoking the alienation and frustration this engenders among those Nigerians who are Western-educated and urbanized, yet not really able or allowed to participate in decision-making in any meaningful way. Achebe is a truly masterful writer who can convey such a potent message through literature.


Achebe shows us how reality contrasts with our ideals.   July 4, 1998
Anthony D. Riker (Washington, DC USA)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful

Achebe's sequel to Things Fall Apart, he seeks to reconcile and give us a further understanding of the struggle between modernism and tradition. He gives us a view of how our ideals contrast with how we really live and exist in reality. The point of this book can be best summed up by Achebe's own words. He states, "The impatient idealist says: 'Give me a place to stand and I shall move the earth.' But such a place does not exist. We all have to stand on the earth itself and go with her at her pace." This book while centered mainly on the African identity crisis, gives a broad understanding of issues of right and wrong and moral consequences of individualism.


OUTSTANDING SEQUEL, VERY SENSITIVE INSIGHTS   May 10, 2004
Denis Benchimol Minev (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil)
13 out of 14 found this review helpful

No Longer at Ease, in my opinion, is actually a better book than Things Fall Apart. Achebe does a masterful job of depicting the experience of an ex-patriate returning home after many years abroad. Such experience is universal, not confined to Nigeria or the main character Obi Okonkwo (grandson of the main character in Things Fall Apart).

In adition to the ex-pat experience, Achebe inserts the peculiarly Nigerian experience, in which a group of British still retained some of the leadership positions in civil service while native Nigerians were mostly focused on politics. The moral aspect is also noteworthy, as the widely accepted corruption and favouring done by Nigerians in power was not mirrored by the British.

Aside from the socio-historical aspect of the novel, Achebe is very sensitive in showing the downward spiral of young Obi, as he tries to fight against strong unreasonable traditions (such as with his girlfriend who is of a banished caste). Obi gets enmeshed in a vicious cycle in which he needs to show success, to a point in which his salary can longer sustain his lifestyle, which is forced upon him by expectations.

I highly recommend this book, especially to ex-pats of any nation. As an ex-pat returned home myself, I feel many of the same difficulties Obi did. Obi's anguish and pain are crystal clear, and any ex-pat will relate.


Rediscovering a classic of African Literature   April 23, 1998
elena (Dublin)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

Violence and corruption in Nigeria have recently made the headlines again, and thousands of refugees seek asylum in Europe and elsewhere - Chinua Achebe's books, and especially "No Longer at Ease," seem particularly relevant. I am struck again by his insights into what happens when traditional values are rejected and new ones not fully internalised. The overlap of old and new is awkward and painful, and the result is inner turmoil, confusion and loss of identity. The few get rich, while most people feel poorer than ever in a climate of rampant materialism. In many ways, the current atmosphere in former communist countries seems to echo and parallel that of Achebe's books. A wonderful book, and Achebe's English is so beautiful!