Reviews

Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul

thestoryofts's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

evanguerra's review against another edition

5.0

A must read.

j_m_alexander's review against another edition

3.25

A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say “Slum!” because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Man-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; Hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.

You want a book that is earnest and enjoyable with the pace being right quick, quick? - well you came to right place. This be a collection of vignettes through the eyes of a short pants playing at being a man. It's a collection of characters, but it also be a description of a place and time - it paint a picture real good good. 

My apologies, I know I just butchered the Trinidad dialect, probably making it sound dumb and clunky, but honestly to my mind that is how it read at first. Like most books that are written in dialect though, with time you catch the rhythm, beat, and patterns, and soon you will find yourself engrossed, not just comprehending the words but hearing the earnest voices. This is the type of writing that transports the reader, using language to introduce unfamiliar culture that can be accomplished in really no other way. This book begs you to get to know the people, while not judging them; to become friendly, but never to fall in love.

This book does some amazing work in a short period. It is a shallow dive, but an enjoyable one. I think before the end you not only see the street our narrator grew up on, but you can also imagine how the appearance changed for our narrator as he aged. The writing and the characters are nothing if not colorful and vivid, but they are also brief and thus somewhat static. I can not help but think that there is also something of a staleness about the entire neighborhood by the end, a loss of hope for most of the inhabitants and yet most of the book is filled with lively activity, even if it isn't always pleasant.

ashes2003's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Incredibly written narrative expressing Caribbean childhood. 

bangharad's review against another edition

3.0

Interesting short tales about life in Trinidad in mid 20th century, however there are basically no female characters (and those that there are are very two dimensional and poorly fleshed out and barely speak) Also trigger warning for consistent casual references to domestic violence throughout

schwarzer_elch's review against another edition

3.0

Un libro de mucho valor para quiénes queremos conocer más sobre la cultura y la sociedad de Trinidad y Tobago. “Miguel Street” está compuesto de diversos capítulos unitarios bastante breves que presentan, a través de la mirada inocente de un niño, a un grupo variado de personajes que son la personificación de las ideas y costumbres de los y las trinitenses de la década de 1940. Además, a través de las páginas, el niño narrador va creciendo y, poco a poco, va perdiendo la mirada inocente que le permitía entender el mundo desde una visión libre de los prejuicios de los adultos, lo cual también nos lleva también a una reflexión necesaria en estos tiempos en los que tanto se juzga sin querer escuchar ni dialogar. Se lee rápida y fácilmente.

thoseblues's review against another edition

1.0

Didn’t like it, habla de muchos temas del abuso y the good and tbh… it was boring like casa chapter was basically a story about irrelevant characters I didn’t care about

signediza's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

elizabethgarcia's review against another edition

emotional funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Finished my first book of #readcaribbean 2022... the incredible Miguel Street by V.S Naipaul 🇹🇹 ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

If anyone is looking for a classic, a fairly short read (under 200 pages) and something easy, or even a first Caribbean book, I can highly recommend this one.

Each chapter we meet and learn about a different character living on Miguel Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad during World War Two. The writing is beautiful and the book is a microcosm for all of life: neighbourhood dynamics, families, romances, failed businesses, misfortunes and capers, all observed and narrated by an unnamed boy who lives alongside this fascinating cast of characters.

Definitely thank you to @alixxlewis for the recommendation, also thanks to @crisis_uk where I bought this copy second hand a couple of months ag, and always thanks to @bookofcinz for championing everything about Caribbean Literature. 

Now I have to decide what to go for next... I might go north to Haiti

chxnty's review against another edition

dark informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0