The Gods of the Past Do Not Die

As a country enters a secular era, the populace has the sensation that the spirits of the past disappear. They become academic topics rather than sources of spiritual enlightenment. The work of Chinua Achebe, however, does not share this viewpoint. The stories are set in the immediate aftermath of the struggle for Nigerian independence, around 1960, but the characters are still beholden to the gods of old.

The spirits of such stories as The Sacrificial Egg and Dead Men's Path are antique at the present of the narratives. Educated men like Julius Obi and Michael Obi consider belief in them to be nothing more than superstition. Julius is bold remain on the street at night when Kitikpa demands sacrifice, and Michael blocks the way for dead souls to access the village. Whether the means of these men's undoing be earthly or ethereal...