Naipauls now classic novel of africa set following the end of british colonialism. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Two men with questionable pasts, glyn mclyntock and his friend cole, lead a wagontrain load of homesteaders from missouri to the oregon territory. S download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Naipauls greatest work, a bend in the river takes us deeply into the life of a young indian man who moves to an isolated town at the bend of a great river in a newly independent african nation. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 326 pages and is available in paperback format. Naipul february, 2009 the brief wondrous life of oscar wao by junot diaz january, 2009 people of the books by geraldine brooks december, 2008 confessions of a pagan nun by kate horsley november, 2008 hannah coulter by. A bend in the river is a 1979 novel by nobel laureate v. Exploring political and individual corruption, it expresses skepticism about the ability. The next bend in the river maine mining adventures tells those who enjoy the outdoors how and where to find gold in maine.
Naipaul takes us deeply into the life of one manan indian who, uprooted by the bloody tides of third world history, has come to live in an isolated town at the bend of a great river in a newly independent african nation. Naipauls a bend in the river is narrated by salim, a young man from an indian family of traders long resident on the coast. My thoughts on a bend in the river the 2001 nobel prize winning book by v. On the surface, a bend in the river emerges mostly as a web of caustic observation, less exciting than its predecessor, guerillas. The second bend in ive loved ya young adult novels for teenagers ever since i took a course in graduate school on such books.
A bend in the river fairfax library book discussion group. The second bend in the river one didnt disappoint me either. Aware of the countrys growing unrest, salim becomes unsure of the future. This incandescent novel chronicles both an internal journey and a physical trek into the heart of africa, a place caught between the dangerously alluring modern world and its own tenacious past and traditions. Goodreads members who liked a bend in the river also liked. When salim, a young indian man, is offered a small business in. In the second of two archival episodes, naipaul reads an excerpt from his 1971 novel in a free state and a passage from his thenjustreleased a bend in the river. The first thing i think of when i read a mention of a bend in a river is love in the time of cholera. Salims family is of indian descent and has lived on the eastern coast of africa for generations.
The narrator of the story rebecca galloway is a spunky tomboy who loves to read. A bend in the river, the 1974 novel by nobel prize winner vs naipaul, takes place in an unnamed postcolonial african town. At first, naipauls literary agent soon to be fired judged the book too cerebral and. Bend in the river book a bend in the river is a novel by nobel laureate v. The novel, telling the story set in an unnamed african country after independence, the book is narrated by salim, an ethnically indian muslim and a shopkeeper in a small. At the heart of his novel is an indian shopkeeper given only the name of salim who arrives in an unnamed town in africa far from the west coast. I was moved by this effort and despite being in the health care field, this book provided me with fresh insight into how patient care and support needs to.
To this ghost town at the bend in the great river comes the narrator, salim. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone. Find books like a bend in the river from the worlds largest community of readers. To this ghost town at the bend in the great river comes the narrator, salim, an indian from east africa who has bought the towns makeshift general. Naipaul this is a memoir of a shopkeeper of indian descent in a town with no name on a bend in the river in a fictional postcolonial country in central africa. A bend in the river was published when naipaul was nearly 50. At times, it is a book about the tension between being and becoming, played out on the bass and treble clefs of the individual and the global. A bend in the river is the story of an arabafrican man, salim, and his journey through the rule of mobutu sese meko of zaire. Naipauls description has been interpreted to point to the town of kisangani on the congo river.
The bend in the river is an absorbing saga of savagery, love, secrets, and healing. Naipaul is a british novelist and travel writer who won the nobel prize for literature in 2001. One of the greatest novels about the process of becoming as opposed to being a nation, especially after the colonising powers. This study guide consists of approximately 39 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of a bend in the river. On the trip back to the settlement, up river and over. Every shop on the bend in the river sees more than it tells. A bend in the river, vs naipaul has written, with that hint of creative inscrutability he cherishes, remains mysterious.
A bend in the river of life manages to create a very strong impact on the reader, dealing with heartbreak and acceptance, but in the most gentle manner ever. Salim, the protagonist, is alone in his new village by choice. Whatever we may want in a novelist is to be found in his books. May, 2009 the book of salt by monique truong april, 2009 what is the what by dave eggers march, 2009 a bend in the river by v. A bend in the river reads like an updating of conrads heart of darkness, taken 60 or 70 years forward into the postindependence period. It centres on the main characters attempt to assert his personal identity and establish his. As with heart of darkness, a bend is set in an unnamed african country in the interior of the continent. Naipauls novel a bend in the river are all in some way alone. A bend in the river 1979 is nobel laureate winner 2001 v. Given that this is quite an old work, i am simply going to comment about my experience of the novel and not worry about spoiling the plot for any who have not read it. Written in 1979, a bend in the river is a drama about human nature and finding one.
Reminiscent of joseph conrads heart of darkness, a bend in the river chronicles both an internal journey and a physical trek into the heart of africa as it explores the themes of personal exile and political and individual corruption. A bend in the river quotes showing of 81 the world is what it is. The setting is not the only similarity between these books. Somewhere in the interior, a rebellionflattened town in a country that, like others in africa, had had its troubles after independence. The novel, telling the story of salim, a merchant in postcolonial mid20th century africa, is one of naipauls best known works and was widely praised. Free download or read online a bend in the river pdf epub book. Salim, a young indian man, moves to a town on a bend in the river of a recently independent nation. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading a bend in the river vintage international. A bend in the river vintage international kindle edition by naipaul, v. What was seen on the river at the end of the book, and a shop on the bend that saw this, and who dropped the.
They establish a settlement outside of portland and as winter nears, it is necessary for mclyntock and cole to rescue and deliver food and supplies being held in portland by corrupt officials. First published in 1979, a bend in the river is a novel of the politics and society of postcolonial africa. Vidiadhar surajprasad, 1932publication date 1980 topics east indians publisher new york. Some time in the recent past, before so much of the continent became closed down or. At the same time, however, it is perhaps the novel that most. The main character, salim, narrates the story, which begins when he moves away from his family to the interior of the country to run a town shop. In fact, when my friend gave this book to me, i thought it was a western adventure novel. No 90 a bend in the river by vs naipaul books the guardian. Naipaul takes us deeply into the life of one manan indian who, uprooted by the bloody tides of third world. The first edition of the novel was published in 1979, and was written by v. When salim travels inland, to a town on the bend of the river, there to set.
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