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A profound novel of cultural displacement, The Mimic Men masterfully evokes a colonial man’s experience in a postcolonial world. Born of Indian heritage and raised on a British-dependent Caribbean island, Ralph Singh has retired to suburban London, writing his memoirs as a means to impose order on a chaotic existence. His memories lead him to recognize the paradox of his childhood during which he secretly fantasized about a heroic India, yet changed his name from Ranjit Kripalsingh. As he assesses his short-lived marriage to an ostentatious white woman, Singh realizes what has kept him from becoming a proper Englishman. But it is the return home and his subsequent immersion in the roiling political atmosphere of a newly self-governed nation that ultimately provide Singh with the necessary insight to discover the crux of his disillusionment.
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The Mimic Men, V. S. Naipaul
- Language
- Released
- 2001
- Binding
- (Paperback)
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- Title
- The Mimic Men
- Subtitle
- A Novel
- Language
- English
- Authors
- V. S. Naipaul
- Publisher
- Vintage
- Released
- 2001
- Format
- Paperback
- ISBN10
- 0375707174
- ISBN13
- 9780375707179
- Series
- Tags
- Non-Fiction, History, Contemporary Fiction, Politics, 20th century, Nobel prize, Indian Literature
- Original title
- The mimic man
- Rating
- 3.2 out of 5
- Description
- A profound novel of cultural displacement, The Mimic Men masterfully evokes a colonial man’s experience in a postcolonial world. Born of Indian heritage and raised on a British-dependent Caribbean island, Ralph Singh has retired to suburban London, writing his memoirs as a means to impose order on a chaotic existence. His memories lead him to recognize the paradox of his childhood during which he secretly fantasized about a heroic India, yet changed his name from Ranjit Kripalsingh. As he assesses his short-lived marriage to an ostentatious white woman, Singh realizes what has kept him from becoming a proper Englishman. But it is the return home and his subsequent immersion in the roiling political atmosphere of a newly self-governed nation that ultimately provide Singh with the necessary insight to discover the crux of his disillusionment.