Okonkwo is the greatest warrior alive, famous throughout West Africa. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy. Chinua Achebe's stark novel reshaped both African and world literature. This arresting parable of a proud but powerless man witnessing the ruin of his people begins Achebe's landmark trilogy of works chronicling the fate of one African community, continued in Arrow of God and No Longer at Ease.

小说讲述了一名非洲部落英雄的故事以及英国殖民者入侵博族人的生活实况，被称为非洲英语小说中的杰作，作者以敏锐的洞察力刻画了一个信奉传统的英雄形象——主人公伊博人量个很有毅力充满智慧的人，终其一生致力于克服软弱的父亲在他心里下的阴影，并取得了很大的成功，在同乡邻里之间赢得了极高的声望，一度被读者奉为类似希腊悲剧中的失败的英雄。文中充满了悲天怜人的人道主义关怀，社会苦难、传统的人文主义、社会凝聚力与作者出神入化的叙事技巧构成了珠联璧合的极致。