kt122 's review for:

A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul

1.0

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I wanted to read something by Naipaul, and thought I'd start here. The main character is an Indian man living in central Africa, who becomes a merchant. We see the country he lives in develop over the course of the book. I found it very hard to get into the plot. Frankly, there isn't much of one. I don't know why I should care about these people. I can conjure more compassion imagining such people. I don't get the sense the author likes them either. He certainly doesn't seem to like women. Women don't feature up until late in the book, and then they are treated abysmally by the male characters. I don't get the sense Naipaul is critical of this. If that weren't enough, the plot is slow moving and not very insightful about post-colonialism.

Saw this article on Naipaul: Why is Naipaul so Hated? http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2018/08/why-is-v-s-naipaul-so-hated/