A review by zamyatins_fears
A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

dark sad slow-paced

2.0

I can see why this was given so much attention at the time, but something about the writing style made it a bit of a slog for me. Also there is a particular violent scene which seems to be the author's self insert drawn from his experiences as an abuser. I didn't realize it at the time I picked up this book, but it turns out he rather bragged openly about the mistress he had and how he would beat her. Some of the sentences which he uses to describe that real life dynamic are echoed within his characters almost word for word.  

There were some quotable bits and interesting nuggets of insight, but a lot of it just seemed... both racist and misogynistic, with little to redeem it that hasn't been said in much better ways in much better books.