There Was a Country

A Personal History of Biafra

By: Chinua Achebe

Narrated by: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

From the legendary author of Things Fall Apart comes a long-awaited memoir about coming of age with a fragile new nation, then watching it torn asunder in a tragic civil war.

The defining experience of Chinua Achebe's life was the Nigerian civil war, also known as the Biafran War, of 1967-1970. The conflict was infamous for its savage impact on the Biafran people, Chinua Achebe's people, many of whom were starved to death after the Nigerian government blockaded their borders. By then, Chinua Achebe was already a world-renowned novelist, with a young family to protect. He took the Biafran side in the conflict and served his government as a roving cultural ambassador, from which vantage he absorbed the war's full horror. Immediately after, Achebe took refuge in an academic post in the United States, and for more than 40 years he has maintained a considered silence on the events of those terrible years, addressing them only obliquely through his poetry. Now, decades in the making, comes a towering reckoning with one of modern Africa's most fateful events, from a writer whose words and courage have left an enduring stamp on world literature.

Achebe masterfully relates his experience, both as he lived it and how he has come to understand it. He begins his story with Nigeria's birth pangs and the story of his own upbringing as a man and as a writer so that we might come to understand the country's promise, which turned to horror when the hot winds of hatred began to stir. To read There Was a Country is to be powerfully reminded that artists have a particular obligation, especially during a time of war. All writers, Achebe argues, should be committed writers - they should speak for their history, their beliefs, and their people.

Marrying history and memoir, poetry and prose, There Was a Country is a distillation of vivid firsthand observation and 40 years of research and reflection. Wise, humane, and authoritative, it will stand as definitive and reinforce Achebe's place as one of the most vital literary and moral voices of our age.

"1966", "Benin Road", "Penalty of Godhead", "Generation Gap", "Biafra, 1969", "A Mother in a Refugee Camp", "The First Shot", "Air Raid", "Mango Seedling", "We Laughed at Him", "Vultures", and "After a War" from Collected Poems by Chinua Achebe. Copyright 1971, 1973, 2004 by Chinua Achebe. Used by permission of Anchor Books, a division of Random House, Inc. and The Wylie Agency, LLC.

©2012 Chinua Achebe (P)2012 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Foreign Policy Must Read 2012" by Books from Global Thinkers

"Chinua Achebe’s history of Biafra is a meditation on the condition of freedom. It has the tense narrative grip of the best fiction. It is also a revelatory entry into the intimate character of the writer’s brilliant mind and bold spirit. Achebe has created here a new genre of literature in which politico-historical evidence, the power of story-telling, and revelations from the depths of the human subconscious are one. The event of a new work by Chinua Achebe is always extraordinary; this one exceeds all expectation." (Nadine Gordimer, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature)

"A fascinating and gripping memoir." (The Wall Street Journal)

Narrator almost ruined it.

Great narrative. Unfortunately the narrator was poor. The pronunciation of Umuahia (Uuuh mu a hia) was very annoying.

Gave me a deeper perspective

Any additional comments?

This book really helped me get an in-depth idea of the politics of the Biafran war and of Chinua Achebe's life. It was a worthwhile read. It would have been awesome if the reader had some instruction on pronouncing Igbo words, since it is a tonal language.. pronunciation is of utmost importance. :) Otherwise, good experience.

narration

wrong pronunciation of names and cities, which should've been properly pronounced by any nigerian narrator.

A must read for all Nigerians

Great narrative of historical events that occurred in Nigeria that would help younger generations get a better understanding of how the country got to its current state. Not a neutral perspective of events, but it’s still worth reading or listening to.
Narrator mispronounced the names of lots of places and things, but it’s understandable.

Very informative entertaining story!

What did you love best about There Was a Country?

I loved the level of detail of the book while maintaining its ease of reading.

Who was your favorite character and why?

N/A

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator seemed not to be well-prepared to handle this novel. He pronounced every single name of person and place, but for one or two, inaccurately. Even the author's name wrong. Both times. Unfortunately, this takes away from the quality of the performance for those who have heard the names before, and is misleading for those who haven't.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

What country will there be?

Wrong Voice Reader

I have no issue with the book. It is the non-Igbo reader that is frustrating my listening. I can't even finish listening. I will delete this from my library now.

Wonderful, Moving Experience

Would you listen to There Was a Country again? Why?

I would listen again simply to be bathed in the beautiful narrative voice of Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was obviously the author, Chinua Achebe.

What does Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I loved the rich voice of Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje with his Beautiful African accent. It made me feel like Mr. Achebe was personally telling me the story. It made it a much stronger experience than simply reading the words.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The overall experience of listening to this account of the history of Biafra and Nigeria was moving in itself. Chinua Achebe's style of writing in the verbal history tradition was perfectly executed. As much as I love to read, the Audio version was a much more memorable, touching experience.

Any additional comments?

1) When the narrator has the accent of the writer, it makes the experience of listening seem as if the author is telling you the story personally. The choice of Adewale was perfect: beautiful voice and beautiful pronunciation.2) I'd like to know how my husband (Native Russian speaker, fluent in Spanish) and I (native US speaker and also fluent in Spanish) can participate in reading books for Amazon Audio.Bravo! This was my first audio book and you've completely hooked me!

A History and an Autobiography

I learned so much from this book about African literature, the Biafran War, the Igbo people, Nigerian history, and the differences between British colonialism in Nigeria vs other African nations in the commonwealth. Achebe names the titles of other African authors, and historial figures-- which makes this book A GREAT resource. I really enjoyed the voice of the reader, and liked the book so much that I purchased it in hardback

What really happen?

Firsthand account. Well written and read. Tells what really happened during a horrendous period of world history.

Narrator not good with Igbo words.

The narrator had difficulty pronouncing Igbo words.. infact he did not do well. Please get someone better versed in Igbo language.