** spoiler alert ** 
 I really enjoyed the book. It was an interesting look at colonizing Africa and the role of missionaries on one level, and the lives of individuals on another. The imagery was wonderful and the balance of the old traditions and those practiced by the missionaries and colonial powers was well done. Although the story has some very specific reference points, there was a universality to the story. 
 **SPOILERS** 
 It always amazes me to see how myopic people are when it comes to their belief system, whether religious or traditional or otherwise based. In this story each village has their own set of rules and beliefs, even though they believe in the same gods. The arrival of the Christian missionaries and their churches was even more disconcerting to people. Some of the missionaries tried to relate to people, to understand the traditions - others either ridiculed or dismissed the traditional beliefs. On the other side, the Africans were equally as dismissive and critical of Christian beliefs. It was great to see that some people on both sides of the divide were willing to talk and try to understand each other. But, the certainty of being right is, of course, still alive and well today. 
 On the individual level, the differences between people and in their willingness to impose violence in response to sins or crimes or deviations from accepted behavior are also apparent today. There are people who are more aggressive in enforcing and defining "right" and "wrong". The main character, Okonkwo, was more aggressive than others - he beat his wives and children, advocated going to war, etc. - but he was also compensating for the fact that his father was a weak man, who did not work hard and who liked to have fun. Okonkwo's son took after his grandfather in some ways, creating tension and leading to his son joining the missionaries. 
 The sense of belonging was a key component of the story. The missionaries drew many of those who were not accepted by the tribal society. Okonkwo, after committing a crime, had to leave his village for 7 years - his family went to his mother's village, which had different rules and priorities. He never felt that he "belonged" at his mother's village, yet when he returned to his village he found that he no longer felt he belonged there - things had changed. 
 The treatment and view of women was troubling. The references to anything "weak" or "peace-loving" as being feminine was unfortunate. Yet, even today there are men/societies who feel this way. I wish we could get beyond that, but it will probably be some time before such views can be eradicated! Still, it made certain parts of the story a bit tiresome for me to read. 
 Anyway, really wonderful book - I wish it had been longer and am hoping that when I read the next two parts, they will satisfy that sense of "I wanted more" that I had with this book. I rate it a 4/5 stars because it felt a little too short and like there was a whole rich culture of which I only got a taste.