V.S. Naipaul has died

100 points by stokedmartin 7 years ago | 23 comments

savanaly 7 years ago |

I got interested in V.S. Naipaul after reading this essay-- well technically a book review of a Naipaul biography-- by Christopher Hitchens-- Cruel and Unusual [0]. It explains and summarizes Naipaul's literary significance as well as the fascinating fact that he acted very badly in his personal life. I read his Middle Passage travelogue after that after I read that and it did not disappoint as far as callousness goes. Although I wouldn't exactly say that it is what we should aspire to I did like it in its own way.

[0] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/cruel-a...

2sk21 7 years ago | |

One that becomes clear is that V. S. Naipaul is probably the least sympathetic literary figure ever.

cambalache 7 years ago | | |

Good authors write good literature. An adult should not look for more in a writer. Give me Celine, Houellebecq and Naipaul one million times before the well-behaved, PC, generic , boring writer who tend to populate current prizes and recommended lists.

Tloewald 7 years ago | | |

He has a lot of competition.

iguy 7 years ago |

Another article today (although actually an interview from 1998) with more focus on his work & what it's about:

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/08/vs-naipau...

A sad day. It seems to me that his themes of displacement, and cultural mismatches & how they affect people, keep becoming more important. We do a lot of shouting about these issues now, in the Western world in 2018 I mean; but he was never shouting, just digging into people's varied stories, and especially their disappointments, and trying to make sense of them.

sridca 7 years ago | |

> Racial equality and assimilation are attractive but only underline the loss, since to accept assimilation is in a way to accept permanent inferiority.

Interesting. Anyone got details (background and context) on this quote?

iguy 7 years ago | | |

Not this exact quote. But something like this is a theme in many of his books, often applied to himself, and to other people who've moved to western countries (or, into western-derived cultures).

It's also close to a theme of Among the Believers etc, where (to paraphrase crudely!) he comes to view non-arab muslims as being in some sense immigrants to an Arab-centred culture, with some of the same feelings of loss.

lil_chicken 7 years ago |

Fun fact: A song from a musical adaptation of Naipaul's novel "A House for Mr. Biswas" was re-adapted and used as the theme for James Bond movies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EuzGhIyRQ

Mediterraneo10 7 years ago |

Does anyone else feel that V.S. Naipaul dropped off the radar as soon as he won the Nobel Prize? I heard his name constantly in the 1990s and very early millennium, but after he won the Nobel it feels like there was not only a decline in his output, but in his cultural presence in general.

pvg 7 years ago | |

His output had gone down by the late 70s, he got the Nobel in 2001 at age 68, past the age many people retire. It's not like he collected the prize and Salingered out.

flak48 7 years ago | | |

What did Salinger do?

plankers 7 years ago | |

As a child of the early 90's, I've never heard of this guy. So yes.

classichasclass 7 years ago |

"The Nightwatchman's Occurrence Book" remains one of my favourite short stories ever since I read it in high school lit class. A truly curious author.

jackallis 7 years ago |

Naipual=Nepal. He found out where his ancestors originated from and mentioned that during his speech.