A review by eheslosz
The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I love Naipaul's writing, definitely want to try some more. The short sentences, the exclamation marks, the revelations in parenthesis, the many sentences starting with 'And' and 'But'. Language so simple but powerful and precise. Really interesting on colonialism and British culture. My favourite aspect of this book was the way it was about a writer and the process of seeing the world. As the narrator puts it towards the end, 'The story had become more personal: my journey, the writer's journey, the writer defined by his writing discoveries, his ways of seeing, rather than by his personal adventures'.