When studying literature in secondary school, one of the books that my classmates and I read intensely was Things Fall Apart, written in 1958 by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe.

My edition was a slim paperback, with a white and orange cover and a caricature drawing of the protagonist Okonkwo. Okonkwo’s story starts off promisingly enough – he is a young leader whose stature in his influential clan is growing, a fearless warrior, an unparalleled wrestler, and a man with three wives and many children.