Scan barcode
A review by rudy99
A House for Mr Biswas by V.S. Naipaul
2.0
So I get that you're not supposed to like Mr Biswas - he's petulant, rude, abusive, and conceited. But I just couldn't enjoy this book. Most of the characters seemed very one dimensional to me, and 90% of the dialogue is just driven by people living in the same house being petty and rude to one another. For a book about family, there's very little love even within the nuclear Biswases (and maybe that's the point).
I get that Naipaul is trying to comment on how false senses of superiority contribute to a lack of fulfillment, and I get that a lot of the book is largely based on his own experiences. But Naipaul himself isn't exactly a model person - and even in the text, his misogyny and racism come through quite starkly. The way he simply brushed off wife-beating and other physical abuse within the book is startling, and left a sick taste in my mouth that I couldn't get rid of.
If I could boil the book down into it's essence, it was that Mr Biswas wanted to feel superior to those around him (including, but not limited to his in-laws) and those around him wanted to feel superior to him. Being the lord of his own house was the way he could show everyone else up, so he relentlessly pursued that dream to the detriment of his wife, children, and any other relationships he might have had.
I get that Naipaul is trying to comment on how false senses of superiority contribute to a lack of fulfillment, and I get that a lot of the book is largely based on his own experiences. But Naipaul himself isn't exactly a model person - and even in the text, his misogyny and racism come through quite starkly. The way he simply brushed off wife-beating and other physical abuse within the book is startling, and left a sick taste in my mouth that I couldn't get rid of.
If I could boil the book down into it's essence, it was that Mr Biswas wanted to feel superior to those around him (including, but not limited to his in-laws) and those around him wanted to feel superior to him. Being the lord of his own house was the way he could show everyone else up, so he relentlessly pursued that dream to the detriment of his wife, children, and any other relationships he might have had.