No Longer at Ease

Dec 29, 2025 8:19 PM

Author:Chinua Achebe

No Longer at Ease

Obi Okonkwo is an idealistic young man who, thanks to the privileges of an education in Britain, has now returned to Nigeria for a job in the civil service. However in his new role he finds that the way of government seems to be backhanders and corruption. Obi manages to resist the bribes that are offered to him, but when he falls in love with an unsuitable girl - to the disapproval of his parents - he sinks further into emotional and financial turmoil. The lure of easy money becomes harder to refuse, and Obi becomes caught in a trap he cannot escape.

Showing a man lost in cultural limbo, and a Nigeria entering a new age of disillusionment, No Longer at Ease concludes Achebe's remarkable trilogy charting three generations of an African community under the impact of colonialism, the first two volumes of which are Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God.

Reviews

A brilliant plotting, mesmerising read

—— Penelope Lively , Guardian

Nail-biting to the end

—— Good Book Guide

In Flight's slick plot and its testosterone-fuelled characters, Thorpe has found a fresh way of looking at corruption and betrayal, and the sticky web that is flung across the world, connecting drug and arms dealers, and all shades of mortals in between

—— Herald

A zingy page-turner

—— Daily Telegraph

This book is so much better written than most thrillers that it's almost ridiculous

—— Financial Times

A gripping thriller from its first sentence…. Thorpe is a craftsman as well as an artist, and the book is well put together, with respect for the genre. Like William Boyd, Thorpe is a thorough professional. Thorpe convincingly portrays a world in which the means of communication have shrunk the world and made privacy hard to secure

—— Scotsman

Flight blends an unlikely cocktail of genres with great success – think 007 as a middle-aged dad you’re halfway there

—— Metro

Keeps things fizzing along

—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow Sunday Herald

An excellently plotted book boosted by some fine writing

—— Sunday Business Post

Thorpe’s skill is with sharply observed characters… Taut and compelling

—— James Urquhart , Financial Times

A well-written and exciting Boy’s Own tale for adults

—— Victoria Clark , The Lady

Don Tillman is one of the most endearing, charming and fascinating literary characters I have met in a long time

—— The Times

Genuinely funny; you'll laugh out loud

—— Essentials

I absolutely loved The Rosie Project -- original and clever, and perfectly written.The world is going to fall in love with Don and Rosie

—— Jill Mansell

A poignant, funny novel about how you don't find love; it finds you

—— Glamour

Don Tillman will exasperate, delight and immerse you in a world so original, in a story so compelling, I defy you not to read through the night. Glorious

—— Adriana Trigiani, author of The Shoemaker's Wife

A very funny and touching love story

—— Sunday Express

Adorable . . . Really funny and heart-warming, a gem of a book

—— Marian Keyes

If you like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time you'll love The Rosie Project

—— Look

Written in a superbly pitch-perfect voice, The Rosie Project had me cheering for Don on every page. I'm madly in love with this book! Trust me, you will be, too

—— Lisa Genova, author of Still Alice and left Neglected

The best, most honestly told love story I've read in a long time

—— Kristin Hannah

Marvellous. Don Tillman is as awkward and confusing a narrator as he is lovable and charming

—— John Boyne, author of The Boy In the Striped Pyjamas

Prime deck-chair material

—— The Times, Our Favourite Comic Novels

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