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VS (Vidiadhar Surajprasad) Naipaul (b1932)
Who?
Sardonic stories about the dire effects of colonialism have led some critics to compare the Trinidad-born writer to Joseph Conrad. His repeated concentration on alienation, rootlessness and politcal violence is rooted in his family's Indian background, and his name was made by his Trinidad-set satire, A House for Mr Biswas, charting the life of its main character from birth to death.
Must reads
The Mystic Masseur (1957), Miguel Street (1959), A House for Mr Biswas (1961), The Middle Passage (1962), Mr Stone and the Knights Companion (1963), A Flag on the Island (1967), The Mimic Men (1967), In a Free State (1971), A Bend in the River (1979), Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (1981), Finding the Centre (1984), The Enigma of Arrival (1987), A Way in the World (1994) and Half A Life (2001).
Darkest hour
Frequent criticism of his often scathing portrayals of India and the Caribbean.
Greatest triumph
Winning the Booker Prize for In A Free State and being knighted in 1989.
Essential quotes
'Worse, to have lived without even attempting to lay claim to one's portion of the earth; to have lived and died as one had been born, unnecessary and unaccommodated.' (A House for Mr Biswas)
'No attitude in the West Indies is new.' (The Middle Passage)
'The islands will stew in their own misery.' (of the West Indies, in The Middle Passage)
Gossip
He met Patricia Hale while at Oxford and they married in 1955. She died in 1966 and he married a divorced Pakistani journalist, Nadira Alvi.
Film versions
Ismail Merchant directed a 2001 film of The Mystic Masseur, starring Om Puri and James Fox.
What to say
His books, though often controversial for their pessimistic views of former colonies, present vivid pictures of a huge variety of characters, from the grotesque to the pathetic.
Don't say
Is Mr Biswas anything to do with House of Fraser?
Copies of the featured books can be purchased from various suppliers including Amazon, Blackwell's and WHSmith.
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