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A review by annenikoline
The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul
2.0
"The Enigma of Arrival" by V.S. Naipaul left me quite ambivalent, as the writing flows beautifully like a river, but it is also very seldom interrupted by dialogue which makes it, not difficult, but hard to read. It is not a book you read in one setting unless reading with your eyes closed counts. What I did not like about the writing was the way characters are described. Instead of showing and not telling, Naipaul does it the other way around which I do not approve of.
This is without doubt a book I only read because I read it for a course in longer novels, however, I did enjoy the writing as just mentioned. What I did not like was the lack of plot and the fact that the author's own arrogance is shining through his main character. "The Enigma of Arrival" is said to be a somewhat biography which might explains Naipaul's traits in the main character.
The first forty pages are the most difficult to through, but once you have overcome these it gets easier as you get to known the way the author writes and what the novel is about. It reminds me a lot of "Walden" by Thoreau which means I probably will not read it again any time soon.
This is without doubt a book I only read because I read it for a course in longer novels, however, I did enjoy the writing as just mentioned. What I did not like was the lack of plot and the fact that the author's own arrogance is shining through his main character. "The Enigma of Arrival" is said to be a somewhat biography which might explains Naipaul's traits in the main character.
The first forty pages are the most difficult to through, but once you have overcome these it gets easier as you get to known the way the author writes and what the novel is about. It reminds me a lot of "Walden" by Thoreau which means I probably will not read it again any time soon.