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November 21, 2014 by tomdalzell

A House for Mr. Biswas – V.S. Naipaul’s Trinidad Novels

We started with this on Durant:

2520 Durant

2520 Durant

It made me think of this:

Chaguanas, Trinidad

Chaguanas, Trinidad

Or this:

V.S. Napial's house, Nepaul Street, St. james, Trinidad

V.S. Naipaul’s house, Nepaul Street, St. james, Trinidad

Between 1956 and 1960, V.S. Naipaul wrote five novels set in his native Trinidad, celebrating the culture and community of Indian immigrants.  I read these books in my twenties.  I bought first editions at Moe’s and Shakespeare’s.  I wasn’t a collector, I was a reader.  I liked the hardbacks, I liked the dust jackets, I liked the smell.

I was enchanted with the novels.  I was reading magic realism at the time.  Naipaul didn’t go there, but his slice-of-life really appealed to me.

I tried the sixth book he wrote, Mimic Men.  No humor.  Not set in the Caribbean.  It didn’t do much for me.  I tried a few more, but soon decided that the five I loved were all I needed.   Here they are:

Biswas 1 Biswas 3 Biswas 4 Biswas 6 Biswas 2 Miguel 1 Miguel 2 Mystic 1 Mystic 2 Mystic 3 Mystic 4 Suffrage 1 Suffrage 2 Suffrage 3 Mr. Stone 1 Mr. Stone 2Mr Stone 3

I pulled the draft of this post up on my screen to show my friend.  He urged me to take him to Trinidad.

postcard-trinidad-pirateship-frontI don’t see it happening anytime soon, but I didn’t rule it out.  What I wanted right then was his taken on the Naipual book covers.

IMG_3677

 

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