 | A House for Mr.Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £6.99 / Used from: £3.60 This was the first book of Naiapul's I read, back in the mid 60s and I have read everything of his since. Mr Biswas is a tragic-comic Everyman".
|
 | The World is What it is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul by Patrick French
Buy new: £12.00 / Used from: £10.00 Though it stops in 1996, one couldn't wish for a more fascinating portrait of the complex and controversial VSN.
|
 | A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £4.28 A dark, gripping story - every word counts - set in Africa yet taking on a universal significance.
|
 | The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £3.99 / Used from: £2.60 Naipaul has never written the same book twice. I love this one for its Hardy-like evocation of the English countryside. Naipaul is perceptive, poetic and precise.
|
 | Sir Vidia's Shadow: A Friendship Across Five Continents by Paul Theroux
Buy used from: £6.45 Written as an act of vengeance, this is in fact a rich portrait of Sir Vidia, providing you don't take everything at face value!
|
 | Among the Believers: An Islamist Journey by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £5.99 / Used from: £3.98 This is the best possible guide to the problems of Islam. Naipaul's eye for detail and his characterisation are outstanding.
|
 | Miguel Street (Caribbean Writers Series) by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £2.99 / Used from: £2.53 Very early Naipaul and what a sense of humour he has! In short episodes he already shows the feel for characterisation and witty dialogue he was to develop in "Mr Biswas".
|
 | Mr. Stone and the Knights Companion by V.S. Naipaul
Buy used from: £0.01 A charming short novel. One of Naipaul's earliest and quite belying the view that Sir Vidia is grouchy and humourless.
|
 | In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £2.87 / Used from: £2.50 The fear the characters feel in an African country at the mercy of rebel armies has significance for the West too.
|
 | India: A Million Mutinies by V.S. Naipaul
Buy new: £5.39 / Used from: £0.01 Naipaul is a great stylist - every word is so precise - and a great story-teller: each sentence adds to the narrative. He also has the art of getting people to talk, clarifying a very complex topic.
|
Listmania!
