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A Bend in the River | 
I didn't want to go back. Not the first time. I didn't think my heart could stand it. But the aeroplane is a wonderful thing. You are still in one place when you arrive at the other. The aeroplane is faster than the heart. You arrive quickly and you leave quickly. You don't grieve too much.
#fast #quotsynov19 @TK-421
pickA beautiful book with lots of great imagery. The lead character was rather apathetic, but probably a true representation of the type of person, time and place. Likeable enough without engendering any strong sympathy for his predicament which is still quite true of modern post colonial Africa.
#Books that have influenced me... A Bend In The River - I was impressed by the brooding atmosphere and the language. Have you read it - what did you think?
Back in 1982 my 2 oldest kids didn‘t go for kid lit—they went for the heavy stuff! Not sure what book my daughter was opening, but my son, age 4 is going for V. S. Naipaul.
#Bookmail! 😁 Never read Naipaul, this would be the first.
so-soI had every reaction from “beautiful writing” and “insightful” to “ugh, another man who refuses to write believable women” and “why do some authors insist on equating passion with violence”. Thought-provoking but in the end, not for me. #1001books #nobelprize
My morning reading - this book has been on my shelf for years and I‘m finally prompted to read it after the author‘s death earlier in the month. #1001books #nobelprize
so-soI enjoyed this, which is interesting, since I didn't like any of the characters. But something about the story felt very true.
so-soSorry, I didn't really like this book. Every time I thought it was about to get interesting, I was disappointed.
pickOne of the masterpieces of all times, Naipaul offers to present his perspective of a post colonialism as he charts out the extremely complex journey of "becoming" undertaken by the Central Africa after the departure of colonial forces. Salim's initiative to acquire a shop in the interiors of the city gives a platform to the writer to reflect upon the phenomena of social, historical and individual evolution.
Non-fiction can distort; facts can be realigned. But fiction never lies.
The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.
A departure can feel like a desertion, a judgement on the place and people left behind.
This slim volume is as rich as that sliver of cheesecake tantalizingly displayed on the dessert cart. As such it is to be savored rather than gobbled.
