Achebe, C: Man of the People

“A magical writer—one of the greatest of the twentieth century.” —Margaret Atwood “African literature is incomplete and unthinkable without the works of Chinua Achebe.” —Toni Morrison “Chinua Achebe is gloriously gifted with the magic of an ebullient, generous, great talent.” —Nadine Gordimer “Achebe’s influence should go on and on . . . teaching and reminding that all humankind is one.” —The Nation “The father of African literature in the English language and undoubtedly one of the most important writers of the second half of the twentieth century.” —Caryl Phillips, The Observer “We are indebted to Achebe for reminding us that art has social and moral dimension—a truth often obscured.” —Chicago Tribune “He is one of the few writers of our time who has touched us with a code of values that will never be ironic.” —Michael Ondaatje “For so many readers around the world, it is Chinua Achebe who opened up the magic casements of African fiction.” —Kwame Anthony Appiah “[Achebe] is one of world literature’s great humane voices.” —Times Literary Supplement “Achebe is one of the most distinguished artists to emerge from the West African cultural renaissance of the post-war world.” —The Sunday Times (London) “[Achebe is] a powerful voice for cultural decolonization.” —The Village Voice “Chinua Achebe has shown that a mind that observes clearly but feels deeply enough to afford laughter may be more wise than all the politicians and journalists.” —Time “The power and majesty of Chinua Achebe’s work has, literally, opened the world to generations of readers. He is an ambassador of art, and a profound recorder of the human condition.” —Michael Dorris