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A House for Mr. Biswas
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
In his forty-six short years, Mr. Mohun Biswas has been fighting against destiny to achieve some semblance of independence, only to face a lifetime of calamity. Shuttled from one residence to another after the drowning death of his father, for which he is inadvertently responsible, Mr. Biswas yearns for a place he can call home. But when he marries into the domineering Tulsi family on whom he indignantly becomes dependent, Mr. Biswas embarks on an arduous -- and endless -- struggle to weaken their hold over him, and purchase a house of his own. From the Trade Paperback edition.
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KNS
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
Pickpick

This is an exceptional exploration of one man‘s fight for independence in the face of constant hardship. V.S. Naipaul vividly depicts the struggles of Mr. Biswas as he strives to escape the control of his in-laws and carve out a space of his own, with the house serving as a symbol of personal achievement. The novel‘s blend of humor, pathos, and rich detail makes it a moving and insightful reflection on the human desire for dignity and belonging.

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cant_i'm_booked
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Pickpick

A richly polished and moving portrait, written without one speck of superfluous sentimentality. We follow Mr. Mohun Biswas, from his humble birth to a humble death on the island of mid-20th century Trinidad, as he moves amongst a vast myriad of houses, all occupied by an equally vast and comic cast of characters, seeking a house of his own. Background record: “Hits of the Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band: Trinidadian Reggae Style Music” (1973).

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Blueroseis
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Been out all morning and as we were passing Risca library we called in for a nice cup of coffee, which is free here. Risca, South Wales, UK.

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rakeshpm
A House For Mr Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
Pickpick

Excellent!!!

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rakeshpm
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul

Starting now. One of the best known post modern classics.

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Butterfinger
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I enjoyed reading fiction/nonfiction from Around the World Challenge last year. I learned there how similar people are worldwide - Africa, South America. It seems contrary to your question though - I enjoyed those books so much.

#widehorizonsreadathon @Emilymdxn

Emilymdxn Lovely to have you on board! I REALLY want to read that one I‘ve loved other books by him 5y
35 likes1 comment
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Butterfinger
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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#jennyis30 Hope you have a great year @jenniferw88

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Butterfinger
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul

Ten weeks before he died, Mr. Mohun Biswas, a journalist of Sikkim Street, St. James, Port of Spain, was sacked.

#PopSugar20 - Great first line

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Butterfinger
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
Pickpick

First read of 2020
Covers Trinidad and Tobago for #AroundtheWorld19

Full of what ifs and should have beens. All he ever wanted was a place of his own. Since he was a child, he'd been moved around by people who were stronger, especially by his awful in-laws. My heart broke for him. Naipal's subtle humor was delightful.

#Booked20 head cover
#Classicschallenge2020 @Reviewsbylola

Reviewsbylola Yay for your first book of 2020! 🙌🏻🙌🏻 5y
25 likes1 comment
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zsuzsanna_reads
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Pickpick

I feel like this photo ought to have a glass of champagne and some confetti in it - congratulations, you finished it! - but all I could manage was the toy caterpillar.

It is a good book, but (a) it's a family saga and I'm not much into family sagas (b) it's long and (c) it is possibly less deep than the author intended it to be.

I don't regret reading it, but struggled for the last 100 pages or so.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

#lifetimereading

Lcsmcat I thought this was hilarious. Maybe it‘s funnier to those of us past the child rearing stage of our lives. (edited) 6y
zsuzsanna_reads @Lcsmcat Maybe! Also, I thought most of it, the way Mr Biswas felt his whole life was wasted was desperately sad. Even the jokes were mostly of a "don't know whether to laugh or cry" kind. 6y
47 likes2 comments
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zsuzsanna_reads
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Kindle monthly deal #bookhaul . There were a lot of potential crime thrillers as well, but I restrained myself.

I've had a House for Mr Biswas in my shelf for about a decade, but it is so chunky, I never dived in. I find I do better with chunky books on the Kindle. Plus it's on my #lifetimereading plan.

And whatever you think about David Starkey, I find his books entertaining.

zsuzsanna_reads @MayJasper sadly my paperback's cover is a lot more boring! 6y
Linsy That cover on the left is beautiful! 🌈 6y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Pickpick

It took me nearly 8 months to finish! Other books were always more fun or more urgent 😊. I have mixed feelings... In the end, I think most readers will end up being fond of Mr Biswas, but by way of also being annoyed or infuriated with him a lot of the time! It was really enlightening to discover just recently that the book is based on Naipaul's childhood and I think it definitely needs to be read in the light of his feelings on colonialism.

RebelReader I just saw where former President Obama read this one this summer too! 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @RebelReader I saw that too, the difference being that he probably read it in a few days vs. my 8 months 😂😂😂 6y
60 likes2 comments
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Tonton
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Thanks for sharing! I learned more about Mr Biswas, which I'm currently reading! 6y
23 likes1 comment
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SaraBeagle
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Sad news. I‘ve only read a few of his books, but absolutely loved the tagged book. Highly recommend checking it out.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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We had a public holiday today and after a lot of indecision, I decided to take my kids to one of our favourite restaurants, which is right by a bird sanctuary, while my husband did some work. It was windy and pretty cold today, but we saw some lovelies, including babies (I don't know the English name of the bird though!) A plus for me is when I can get a red cappucino (made with rooibos tea) - are they a thing anywhere else in the world?

BarbaraJean I didn‘t know red cappuccinos were a thing and now I want them to be a thing here. 😊 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @BarbaraJean they're awesome if you want a cappucino but you don't want caffeine (and decaf coffee freaks me out, plus many places use incredibly crappy instant decaf for decaf cappucinos, ew). 6y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Man, I've been reading this for months and still have about 170 pages to go and it's slow going. The writing is beautiful and descriptive but I just find it too easy to put the book down. Maybe I've just become a lady reader...

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Lcsmcat
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Pickpick

A beautifully written, and comic exploration of one man‘s life on Trinidad, born at midnight and thus cursed by the superstitions of his family; married by accident (yes, I meant that) and roped into a large, matriarch-ruled family, all he wants is a house of his own. But fate has other ideas. Highly recommend. #100essentialnovels

Cinfhen Sounds good! 6y
Blaire This has been on my tbr forever, but haven‘t tackled it yet. Maybe this summer. Nice review! 6y
Lcsmcat @Blaire I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 6y
54 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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Lcsmcat
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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“Then it was that he discovered the solace of Dickens. Without difficulty he transferred characters and settings to people and places he knew. In the grotesques of Dickens everything he feared and suffered from was ridiculed and diminished, so that his own anger, his own contempt became unnecessary, and he was given strength to bear with the most difficult part of his day[.]”

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Lcsmcat
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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“And it was a revelation to Mr Biswas that words and phrases which by themselves were commonplace could be welded into sentences of such balance and beauty.” (Gratuitous cat picture.) 😸

rubyslippersreads 😻😻😻 7y
DebinHawaii Sweet! 🐱❤️ 7y
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Lcsmcat
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I went for a walk on my lunch today and found myself at the library. I picked this up for the #100essentialnovels challenge, and also got a bookmark about our upcoming library sale!

Kaye Oh boy ! A library book sale ! Take pictures. 7y
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I don't usually do book and food posts, but I was so happy with my healthy, delicious and gorgeous lunch /main meal. Stir fried beef mince and grated carrots, broccoli, sweet potato and sauerkraut. And I'm getting into Mr Biswas more too, amazingly beautiful passages here and there.

Bklover That looks like a yummy combination!! 7y
44 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I've had some trouble getting until this but I'm finally about 140 pages in. It's a strange book in that most of the characters are ill-tempered and unhappy most of the time and the main character is pretty irritating and infuriating at times; at other times the motives for his actions are simply unclear to me. But I'm interested enough to persevere.

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I've been working until 10 every night once toddler is asleep. I'm already behind on my schedule and now my laptop is updating! I just want to cry. Time for reading, I guess?

BookInMyHands I‘m sorry, I remember those days ❤️. Sending you mama hugs. 7y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Thanks so much xx 7y
25 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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I decided to make A House for Mr Biswas my next print book. When I opened it, I found this note. Rita Badenhorst was a dear lady who lived in our block of flats. She never married but worked at the library of the University of Pretoria for something like 30 years and she gave her sister, her niece and her niece's husband a home when they needed it. She always looked after people and is dearly missed since her passing.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook The note says, "Rita, because this is my favourite book, I very much want you to read it too. I hope you grow to love Mr Biswas as much as I do! Love, Martie" 7y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Rita's niece was my eldest daughter's babysitter for over two years and our kids still play together two to three times a week, if not more, even though she can't babysit as such for me anymore. They need to get rid of a lot of books and I feel so blessed by the ones I bought from them, just terrible about how little they asked me to pay. I need to make another payment simply because these books are so precious. 7y
33 likes2 comments
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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Here are my options for 3 Books I Own for my own little #Setsof3ReadingChallenge. Vinegar Hill and Waiting for the barbarians have been on my shelves the longest, but they're also the ones I'm least excited about reading. I'll still decide on my final 3 and if I read the others, it's a bonus.

MommyWantsToReadHerBook I'm looking forward to it, @irre though I'm daunted by its length! 7y
violabrain Watership Down is one of my all time favorite books and one of the very few books I've read more than once. 7y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook @violabrain I started it as a teenager and never finished. Definitely a gap in my reading experience I want to fill! 7y
BarbaraJean @MommyWantsToReadHerBook I started and abandoned Watership Down when I was too young for it. Loved it when I read it as an adult! 7y
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AMVP
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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#fallintobooks #day7 - #southamericanwriters

I kinda dig the look of the Everyman's Library: The uniform spines look sharp on a shelf, and it's a series with the good sense to feature built-in bookmarks.

vivastory I love Everyman's editions. 7y
13 likes1 comment
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Ndennis_benn
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Pickpick

Experiencing this book all over again with its lush language, and great story line.

StephanieY Added to my stack. I enjoyed Enigma of Arrival. 8y
20 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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Sharpeipup
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Recently snubbed by a friend for only reading "kids' books (YA, thank you)" so I am kicking it Nobel prize style. #bkloveslitsy

BooksTeasAndBookishThings You read as much YA as you want, we are all young at heart and the "A" stands for ADULT. In my opinion they can be some of the best books, even though it does seem like the Dystopian theme has been taking the genre by storm the past few years, but still... A good story is a good story. ?? 8y
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Lisacarlson
A House for Mr. Biswas | V.S. Naipaul
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Sunday afternoon 👌🏻

Notafraidofwords How's this one? I always wanted to read it? 8y
Lisacarlson @Notafraidofwords It's the first book I've read by Naipaul, and I'm really enjoying it! So far, would definitely recommend! 8y
9 likes2 comments