Naipaul, Sir V.S.

Naipaul, Sir V.S.

▪ Trinidadian-British writer
in full  Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul 
born August 17, 1932, Trinidad
 
 Trinidadian writer of Indian descent known for his pessimistic novels set in developing countries. For these revelations of what the Swedish Academy called “suppressed histories,” Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.

      Descended from Hindu Indians who had immigrated to Trinidad as indentured servants, Naipaul left Trinidad to attend the University of Oxford in 1950. He subsequently settled in England, although he traveled extensively thereafter. His earliest books (The Mystic Masseur, 1957; The Suffrage of Elvira, 1958; and Miguel Street, 1959) are ironic and satirical accounts of life in the Caribbean. His fourth novel, A House for Mr. Biswas (1961), also set in Trinidad, was a much more important work and won him major recognition. It centres on the main character's attempt to assert his personal identity and establish his independence as symbolized by owning his own house. Naipaul's subsequent novels used other national settings but continued to explore the personal and collective alienation experienced in new nations that were struggling to integrate their native and Western-colonial heritages. The three stories in In a Free State (1971), which won Britain's Booker Prize, are set in various countries; Guerrillas (1975) is a despairing look at an abortive uprising on a Caribbean island; and A Bend in the River (1979) pessimistically examines the uncertain future of a newly independent state in Central Africa. A Way in the World (1994) is an essaylike novel examining how history forms individuals' characters. Naipaul's other novels include The Mimic Men (1967) and The Enigma of Arrival (1987).

      Among Naipaul's nonfiction works are three studies of India, An Area of Darkness (1965), India: A Wounded Civilization (1977), and India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990); The Five Societies—British, French, and Dutch—in the West Indies (1963); and Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (1981). Naipaul was knighted in 1989.

      In 1998 he published Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples, a portrayal of the Islamic faith in the lives of ordinary people in Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Half a Life (2001) is a novel about an Indian immigrant to England and then Africa. He becomes “half a person,” as Naipaul has said, “living a borrowed life.” Released the year that Naipaul received the Nobel Prize, Half a Life was considered by many critics to illustrate beautifully the reasons that he won the prize. Subsequent works include The Writer and the World (2002) and Literary Occasions (2003), both collections of previously published essays. The novel Magic Seeds (2004) is a sequel to Half a Life.

Additional Reading
Patrick French, The World Is What It Is: The Authorized Biography of V.S. Naipaul (2008).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Naipaul, Sir V(idiadhar) S(urajprasad) — Nai·paul (nīʹpôl), Sir V(idiadhar) S(urajprasad). Born 1932. Trinidadian born British writer. His works include the novels A House for Mr. Biswas (1961) and A Bend in the River (1979) and the essay collection The Overcrowded Barracoon (1972). * * …   Universalium

  • Naipaul, Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad — (17 ago. 1932, Trinidad). Escritor trinitario de origen indio. Descendiente de hindúes que emigraron a Trinidad como empleados con contrato no rescindible, dejó la isla a los 18 años para asistir a la Universidad de Oxford y establecerse en… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Naipaul — V. S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, plus connu sous la signature V. S. Naipaul, né le 17 août 1932 à Chaguanas à Trinité et Tobago, est un écrivain britannique lauréat du prix Nobel de littérature en 2001. Biographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • sir — /serr/, n. 1. a respectful or formal term of address used to a man: No, sir. 2. (cap.) the distinctive title of a knight or baronet: Sir Walter Scott. 3. (cap.) a title of respect for some notable personage of ancient times: Sir Pandarus of Troy …   Universalium

  • Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul — Sir V.S. Naipaul (* 17. August 1932 als Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul in Chaguanas, Trinidad) ist ein westindischer Schriftsteller, der im Jahr 2001 den Nobelpreis für Literatur erhielt. Heute lebt Naipaul in England. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Naipaul — Sir V.S. Naipaul (* 17. August 1932 als Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul in Chaguanas, Trinidad) ist ein westindischer Schriftsteller, der im Jahr 2001 den Nobelpreis für Literatur erhielt. Heute lebt Naipaul in England. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Naipaul —   [ neɪpɔːl], Sir (seit 1990) V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), trinidad. Schriftsteller indischer Abstammung, * Chaguanas (bei Port of Spain) 17. 8. 1932; schreibt in englischer Sprache; Studium in Trinidad und Oxford, lebt seit 1950 v. a. in… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Naipaul — biographical name Sir V(idiadhar) S(urajprasad) 1932 British (Trinidadian born of Indian parents) writer …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Naipaul — /ˈnaɪpɔl/ (say nuypawl) noun Sir V(idiadhar) S(urajprasad), born 1932, Trinidadian writer in Britain; noted for novels concerned with social conditions in the Caribbean and other parts of the world; Nobel prize for literature 2001 …  

  • V.S. Naipaul — V. S. Naipaul Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, plus connu sous la signature V. S. Naipaul, né le 17 août 1932 à Chaguanas à Trinité et Tobago, est un écrivain britannique lauréat du prix Nobel de littérature en 2001. Biographie …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”