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ESSAYS: MOLLY McCLOSKEYreviews The Education of a British-Protected Childby Chinua Achebe, Allen Lane, 166pp, £20

IN The Education of a British-Protected Child, Chinua Achebe’s new collection of essays, the author recalls attending a symposium in Dublin some years ago, organised by the Arts Council, around the theme of literature as celebration. While some writers present took issue with the theme, Achebe, calling on the more inclusive notion of “celebration” favoured by his people – he comes from the Igbo ethnic group, one of the largest in Africa – embraced it. For the Igbo, celebration is “the acknowledgment, not the welcoming, of a presence . . . the courtesy of giving to everybody his due”. As such, it includes all significant encounters, even and especially those new and threatening – even colonialism.