djmurm 's review for:

A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

2.0

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Featuring an insufferable, hypocritical, & lazy main character, A Bend in the River is sludge to get through and often feels redundant in its ideas. Naipaul introduces some interesting themes early in the novel and then just hammers you over the head with them for the rest of the book which renders the story as boring as Salim's life. There were certainly glimmers of quality and potential here, but it's not enough to compensate for all of the flaws. Also, the treatment of women in this story was highly frustrating, which I guess isn't surprising considering Naipaul's own concerning views on females.