Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #127137 in Books
• Published on: 1988-02-11
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Synopsis
This novel was included in Anthony Burgess's personal selection of the 99 best novels in English since 1939.

Customer Reviews

Great intro to writings of Achebe
This is a great book and a perfect introduction to the writing of Achebe if you are unaccustomed to him. It is not written too simply (something I have been known to criticise the writer for), and is full of wit and has an almost allegorical sub-text. Although set in the 1960s, the beauty of this book (paradoxically)is that it is virtually timeless insofar as the notion/persona of the 'big man' (personified here as Chief Nanga) and the corruption and havoc that these types wreak on Africa is still sadly with us today. However without ruining the plot, what I particularly like is that it shows what can happen when these people are confronted. Highly recommended.

Achebe satirises African regimes to excellent effect.
"A Man of the People" is an excellent book. It is set in the 1960s, just after Nigeria had been granted independence from Britain.

It follows the young, idealistic Mr Odili, a former student of Chief Nanga, MA, who has become a leading politician under a brutal Nigerian regime. Achebe's novel follows Odili as he uncovers corruption and attempts to take on his former master, Nanga, by forming his own party and challenging for a place in government.

"A Man of the People" is a very witty book, full of clever swipes at political systems (which can be related not just to African but the whole world) and is very intelligently written. Most of all, the ending will probably stay with the reader for a very long time.