A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

Name: V.S. Naipaul

Year Won: 2001

Read: A Bend in the River

Original Language: English

Reason: "for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories"

About: A Bend in the River is the story of an Indian man in an African nation. He travels inland from the more urbanized coast and moves into a former European ghost town populated by both the locals, Europeans who've refused to leave, and other sorts.

What I liked: The descriptions of Africa are incredibly evocative, as are the histories that Naipaul seems to breathe into almost every interaction with them. I also like some of the colorfully and weirdly described characters.

What I Disliked: Are all the women whores or Madonnas? Yes! Is this perhaps a critique of colonialism, but also one that is very, very racist? Also yes! While maybe - maybe - some of this is appropriate to an Indian in Africa (the protagonist spends an awful lot of time trying to convince a guy to abandon his common law wife and kids because they're "just African"), it also feels ickily like this might be sorta, kinda what the author himself believes. Which made reading this a bit grotesque.

Should it have won a Nobel: I mean, Naipaul is considered a great. He's also not without controversy due to his sexism. And...both are really apparent in this work. IDK. It feels a bit like Kipling, although I have to say that I enjoyed Kipling a bit more. Also, this was like...nearly a hundred years later. So...

With that said, the man can write. I just wish he could write in a less dehumanizing way.

Next Up: "Dossier K" by Imre Kertész