The Chinua Achebe Encyclopedia (review)

Chinua Achebe is probably the best-known writer in the history of African letters. He has been the subject of several books and countless journal articles. M. Keith Booker and his collaborators have created a valuable resource that aims to get a firm grip on this formidable body of material. The 6,000-plus alphabetical entries vary in length from several sentences to several pages, depending on the subject. The important thing, however, is that the encyclopedia is intended for both those grounded in Achebe studies and those that are not, in that it does not presuppose any prior knowledge of Achebe's writings or even the ability to know the Igbo world and culture.

For those that are fairly new to Achebe's world, the encyclopedia provides a brief chronology largely devoted to the events of Achebe's life, family, and influences on and sources of some of his works. For such readers additional biographical information is provided in several other entries and essays by some of the collaborators, as well as explorations of the historical, social, and cultural context of Achebe's writings. This group is also likely to find treatments of the Igbo culture and language, pidgin English, the language question in African literature, and major Nigerian cities invaluable entry points into the world of Achebe.

For readers who already know a good deal about African literature or postcolonial studies in general and Achebe in particular, the encyclopedia not only offers a reservoir of research sources, but it again reminds us, through Simon Gikandi, of the institutionalization of African literature and the foundational role Achebe's works play in the process. Equally likely to appeal to scholars of African literature is the attempt to capture changes in Achebe scholarship for over a half-century. In this regard, Booker's incisive effort to situate Achebe's works within a wider context is not just designed to bring out the important historical dimension of these works, but it is also an attempt to underscore the vexed and complex relationship between African texts and postcolonial theory and studies that continue to engage the imagination of African scholars.

The encyclopedia, however, is heavily weighted toward the novels, what the authors call "Achebe's production as a novelist," although Achebe's poetry, short stories, and critical writings are discussed somewhat. The contributors take turns to write ample introductions to five of the novels: Things Fall Apart and A Man of the People, Booker; Arrow of God, Brown; No Longer at Ease, Lynn; Anthills of the Savannah, Osei-Nyame, Jr. This logic of discussion is somehow anticipated in Gikandi's encompassing introduction, which rightly devotes more space to the novels as the "authorized point of entry into Igbo, Nigerian or African landscapes" than to other genres.

On the whole, The Chinua Achebe Encyclopedia offers its readers a great deal of information about Achebe and introduces them to a wide range of critical responses to his works. Several entries are rich in fresh insights (even for those grounded in Achebe studies) and in incisive restatements of accepted views.