A review by mtustingore
Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul

2.0

The writing is crisp, clear, and easy to digest but the book is disjointed. I enjoyed the first half of the book and the themes it explored (alienation, inaction discomfort), but found that the second half made little sense without adding much to the themes it sought to explore. The fact that the second chapter was largely being narrated to his sister, with whom he never previously shared any documented closeness, did not make much sense at all. I found Willie a dislikable yet intriguing character in the first half but less interesting in the second. I am not sure if I'll read the second book.