More about the book
Set in an unnamed African country, the book is narrated by Salim, a young man from an Indian family of traders long resident on the coast. He believes "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it." So he has taken the initiative; left the coast; acquired his own shop in a small, growing city in the continent’s remote interior and is selling sundries – little more than this and that, really – to the natives. This spot, this ‘bend in the river’, is a microcosm of post-colonial Africa at the time of Independence: a scene of chaos, violent change, warring tribes, ignorance, isolation and poverty. And from this rich landscape emerges one of the author’s most potent works – a truly moving story of historical upheaval and social breakdown.
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A Bend in the River, V. S. Naipaul
- Language
- Released
- 2002
- product-detail.submit-box.info.binding
- (Paperback)
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- Title
- A Bend in the River
- Language
- English
- Authors
- V. S. Naipaul
- Publisher
- Picador
- Released
- 2002
- Format
- Paperback
- Pages
- 340
- ISBN10
- 0330487140
- ISBN13
- 9780330487146
- Series
- Tags
- Fiction, Historical Themes, Classics, Africa, English Literature, India, Everyday Life, Nobel prize
- Original title
- A bend in the river
- Rating
- 3.8 out of 5
- Description
- Set in an unnamed African country, the book is narrated by Salim, a young man from an Indian family of traders long resident on the coast. He believes "The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it." So he has taken the initiative; left the coast; acquired his own shop in a small, growing city in the continent’s remote interior and is selling sundries – little more than this and that, really – to the natives. This spot, this ‘bend in the river’, is a microcosm of post-colonial Africa at the time of Independence: a scene of chaos, violent change, warring tribes, ignorance, isolation and poverty. And from this rich landscape emerges one of the author’s most potent works – a truly moving story of historical upheaval and social breakdown.