V S Naipaul
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad
Naipaul was born at Chaguanas, in Trinidad & Tobago on 17th
August,1932 to Parents of Indian origin. His schooling was in Port of
Spain in Queen's Royal College followed by graduation in Oxford. He
also worked as a freelancer in BBC. His works reflect his humble
beginning, his long struggle and his artistic perception.
Naipaul first married an
English lady Patricia Hale and they were together for 41 years till
Patricia succumbed to cancer in 1996. Then he married a Pakistani
Journalist Nadira Naipaul who was twice married & divorced. Patricia
was a literary companion to Naipaul editing his works and helping in
publication. Their personal life was, however, stormy with Naipaul
visiting prostitutes regularly and having affair with another married
English lady.
Naipaul traveled widely
and his books touch the hangover of colonialism. He has written 4
books on India centric themes- The Middle Passage(1962), An Area of
Darkness(1964),India: A wounded Civilization(1977) and India: A
Million Mutinies Now(1990). Naipaul was lucid in his style and J M
Coetzee had described him as a master of Modern English prose.
He was awarded Nobel
Prize in Literature in 2001 and Swedish Academy praised his work
"for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in
works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories."
Order V S Naipaul's Books below
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