You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
Just about to re-wash my eyes and heart with Edward Said. No wonder this bizarre book won a Nobel Prize. No wonder the word "Orientalism" is very, very, important for us.
"The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it."
V. S. Naipaul's book A Bend In The River is set in Africa. The story is narrated by Salim, a Indian Muslim who is brought up in an African country on the coast. His family is into business and when he gets bored with the easy life on the coast, he ventures to set up a business in a town deep inside Africa beside a river. Through his eyes, the reader gets to see how life changes in the African town and its country as a new leader takes control after independence bringing change and reform which in the end turns out to be not so purely good after all. All this is seen through Salim's or his friends' eyes as the reader goes through their daily life. Being a long time African resident but not a native, he gives a mix of an insider and outsider view of the African town life.
A Bend In The River is not too long and is quite an easy read. Naipaul's details on Africa town life are vivid and detailed. It is easy to see similarities between that and some facets of India too.
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Elegant writing, although not quite as elegant as you would think reading Naipaul's narcissistic opining about himself. The story dragged in places, and, to echo a criticism that I saw floating on Goodreads, the characters felt flat at times, as if pantomiming the symbolic roles they have been assigned. But the last 20 pages make the book a masterpiece, and their contrast with the rest of the book give sense to the whole.
Is Naipaul racist? Is he sexist? Of course he is, and it manifests in the book—see, for example, the flat, essentializing, and extremely vague ways in which he describes Africans and "African" culture. But I don't read novels for moral edification, and I also don't think it healthy to confound protagonist and author (even if one definitely inspires the other,namely the DV scene which recalls Naipaul's own revolting confession about being his lover ). Furthermore, I don't think it is fair to characterize all aspects of the book as racist and thus unworthy of being read, namely its depiction of postcolonial chaos, violence, and senselessness. If you are familiar with a few different countries' postcolonial history, you might find that the ruthless disarray that befell the unnamed country in the book evokes aspects of decolonization elsewhere, including in places outside of Africa. If I had to pick a book that reminds me of my family's hardest days after decolonization, it would be this one. I don't think it is racist to portray non-Western characters as capable of malice and tyranny. To recognize their humanity is to recognize they are very much capable of these things, just as the white colonizers were.
Is Naipaul racist? Is he sexist? Of course he is, and it manifests in the book—see, for example, the flat, essentializing, and extremely vague ways in which he describes Africans and "African" culture. But I don't read novels for moral edification, and I also don't think it healthy to confound protagonist and author (even if one definitely inspires the other,
Yah, I know. Another "India" book. But it takes place in Africa ... And it's been on my shelf for a long time. Time to read it or ditch it.
A testament to both the American education system, and my own lacking in awareness.... I had no historical knowledge to use as a foundation for reading this book. Similar to reading Midnight's Children, this book expected the reader to be able to relate to the events and setting, at least on a basic level. There was no background primer provided in the story itself. Once again, thank you, Wikipedia, for filling in some of the gaps. (Wiki for Congo Crisis and Mobutu before reading this)
One of the themes of this book was the very human tendency to just "carry on". Just keep doing what you are doing, despite no assurances that anything will come of it. You could succeed, or you could get squashed like so many ants. Really, the world as a whole doesn't care. If you get squashed, more ants will step up to replace you. What a bit of irony that this was also one of the central themes of my experience reading this book. Maybe the story will have a big payoff at the end, or maybe it will all have been a waste of time for me. I had to just "carry on" and read to the end.
My reading result? I wasn't squashed, but I also did not feel fully enlightened. It was a struggle for me to tap into the pain and emotion that seemed to be trying to surface in the story. This is strong stuff -- the aftermath of colonialism (again, like Midnight's Children). To juxtapose two very different constructs: this is a clear lesson on why the Federation has their Prime Directive. Europe did not follow the Prime Directive. They came in to Africa, stirred everything up socially, politically, economically and then just vanished, leaving the Africans to make sense of what was left to them and to build a whole new society from the detritus of colonization. Going back to "before" is impossible, but picking up where the Europeans dropped everything is out of their skill set.
But despite all the potential of this story, I was left flat, shrugging my shoulders, if you will. There were moments when I could connect, but they were scattershot. I am hesitant to blame the book, though. The lacking might stem from my ignorance of the events. Thus the three stars. As a story in itself, it didn't miss the target, just the bullseye. And it did open my eyes to a part of my world (in the geographical sense if not in the personal sense) I could stand to learn more about.
A testament to both the American education system, and my own lacking in awareness.... I had no historical knowledge to use as a foundation for reading this book. Similar to reading Midnight's Children, this book expected the reader to be able to relate to the events and setting, at least on a basic level. There was no background primer provided in the story itself. Once again, thank you, Wikipedia, for filling in some of the gaps. (Wiki for Congo Crisis and Mobutu before reading this)
One of the themes of this book was the very human tendency to just "carry on". Just keep doing what you are doing, despite no assurances that anything will come of it. You could succeed, or you could get squashed like so many ants. Really, the world as a whole doesn't care. If you get squashed, more ants will step up to replace you. What a bit of irony that this was also one of the central themes of my experience reading this book. Maybe the story will have a big payoff at the end, or maybe it will all have been a waste of time for me. I had to just "carry on" and read to the end.
My reading result? I wasn't squashed, but I also did not feel fully enlightened. It was a struggle for me to tap into the pain and emotion that seemed to be trying to surface in the story. This is strong stuff -- the aftermath of colonialism (again, like Midnight's Children). To juxtapose two very different constructs: this is a clear lesson on why the Federation has their Prime Directive. Europe did not follow the Prime Directive. They came in to Africa, stirred everything up socially, politically, economically and then just vanished, leaving the Africans to make sense of what was left to them and to build a whole new society from the detritus of colonization. Going back to "before" is impossible, but picking up where the Europeans dropped everything is out of their skill set.
But despite all the potential of this story, I was left flat, shrugging my shoulders, if you will. There were moments when I could connect, but they were scattershot. I am hesitant to blame the book, though. The lacking might stem from my ignorance of the events. Thus the three stars. As a story in itself, it didn't miss the target, just the bullseye. And it did open my eyes to a part of my world (in the geographical sense if not in the personal sense) I could stand to learn more about.
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Smooth, effortless, evocative prose and masterful storytelling, haunted by uneasy whispers of Joseph Conrad and Lawrence Durrell. The writing is densly layers but light as air. I will be reflecting on this for quite some time.
"Protagonist" seems to be a tough word to use with a lot of the books in this genre, as the main characters are always so unlikable. Call me old fashioned, but when the main character hits a woman, he immediately loses all respect in my book.
If I had to summarize this book in one word, it would be... "nothing". A guy moves to Africa... and nothing happens. He faces no challenges, makes no personal discoveries, nothing changes in any significant way. Unless you consider having an affair with a married woman and than abusing her a significant change.
My professor insists on pushing words and opinions into our mouths, but I don't see much value in this book. The presence of the 'Big Burger' in the town is a comment on the age of industrialization and the ever present influences of Europe and America in Africa, but I found it hard to sympathize, or even care about a character who seemed to care so little about himself.
If I had to summarize this book in one word, it would be... "nothing". A guy moves to Africa... and nothing happens. He faces no challenges, makes no personal discoveries, nothing changes in any significant way. Unless you consider having an affair with a married woman and than abusing her a significant change.
My professor insists on pushing words and opinions into our mouths, but I don't see much value in this book. The presence of the 'Big Burger' in the town is a comment on the age of industrialization and the ever present influences of Europe and America in Africa, but I found it hard to sympathize, or even care about a character who seemed to care so little about himself.
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I found this a strange read ; I felt as though I was being given an insight, a lesson, into a part of life and a place and that was valuable. The lesson was also into the impact of the post colonial conditions on the place and people. I kept waiting to understand more about Salim or to ‘see him’ or for a plot to unfold as such but it’s more like a diary or a relation of events over a period of time. I need to sit with this one but I suspect it will stick with me.
This book was definitely a challenge for me and unlike anything I'm used to reading. It wasn't my favorite but I think it's very important to read this book if you'd like to get an accurate sense of what Africa was really like during these periods of revolution and war. It's all extremely realistic. There were some parts of the story that I did find very interesting and captivating - like Salim's relationship with Yvette. Overall, I'm glad I read it and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys learning about history and other ways of life.