Layered with Irony and circular reflections, No Longer At Ease, ties out the African Trilogy with equal doses of melancholy and wisdom. The lives of Okwonko and his namesake grandfather mirror each other in some ways and diverge in others. The most noticeable common thread being how their moral uprightness is washed away by the wave of progress and the crushing solitude of pride. You can’t help but grimace at Okonkwo’s references to phrases and ideas from the first book that were once foreboding, transformed into ghostlike echos from the past. I particularly found it impressive how Achebe addresses the white colonialist narrative with a subtle story arch going from grand aspirations to begrudgingly accepting the reality of the African situation. In the end, everyone exits, hat in hand, with the balloons of their big ideas popped by the bitter realities of life. The entire book is a denouement of the journey of a tragedy; a real one as Okonkwo mentions, without happy endings. The entire trilogy is a moving embodiment of the intersection between progress, culture, and a struggle of wills in Africa. I am so glad I have taken the opportunity to read it. I am left feeling closer to the Nigeria of my mother and father and better understanding of who they are and their feelings towards their home.