THERE WAS A COUNTRY: A PERSONAL HISTORY OF BIAFRA

Abstract

There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra is the 32nd and last book of the giant African novelist, Chinua Achebe. The book is about his ‘story’ told for “the sake of the future of Nigeria, for our children and grandchildren, that I feel it is important to tell Nigeria’s story, Biafra’s story, our story, my story” (3). Yet as the book proceeds one immediately embraces the story under the portents of three genres: memoir, poetry, and academia as clearly interspersed in the book. In his classical style of writing, Achebe maintains a high taste of simplicity, audaciousness, sincere in his expressions of praise and gratitude (56-61, 76, 105-107) and direct starkness that gives the book its moral force.