≡ Libro A House for MrBiswas VS Naipaul 9780330487191 Books

A House for MrBiswas VS Naipaul 9780330487191 Books

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A House for MrBiswas VS Naipaul 9780330487191 Books

A House For Mr. Biswas is largely a fictionalized biography of the author's father, an ethnic Indian who was born and lived his life in Trinidad in the early decades of the 20th century. Born into a roughly middle class family and a highly structured and ritualized Hindu lifestyle, Mr. Biswas (and this is how he is referred to, even as a newborn) unwittingly marries into a large, relatively prosperous, multi-generational Indian family (The Tulsis). These in-laws provide insurance against his frequent failures; however never fail to rankle him with their condescension and sarcasm as he attempts "to paddle his own boat." Virtually the entire book chronicles his struggle to escape the Tulsi orbit, symbolized by his yearning for and pursuit of his own dwelling.

The novel is instructive in its depiction of life on the Caribbean island during the period surrounding the two World Wars of the early twentieth century. The interaction between the ethnic Indians, the natives of the island and the mixed race inhabitants is also of some interest. All in all, however, the story fails to capture the reader's interest and becomes little more than a recitation of chronological events, many of whom seem to repeat themselves ad infinitum.

While the title character's struggles are sometimes inspiring (but almost universally unsuccessful), it is difficult to become emotionally invested in his endeavors for the simple reason that he is not an exceptionally pleasant or "good" person. In fact, he is a miserable human being; an awful husband, a terrible father, an ungrateful, whining, complaining, lazy, two faced, hypocritical liar and spendthrift. His many failures are almost pre-destined and fail to engender any kind of sympathy (except for his long suffering wife and children, who were it not for Mr. Biswas's in-laws would have likely starved to death).

The story is not without its interesting vignettes, but they are far fewer than one would hope for in a novel of this repute.


Tags : A House for Mr.Biswas [V.S. Naipaul] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. A House for Mr Biswas is V.S. Naipaul's unforgettable third novel. Born the wrong way and thrust into a world that greeted him with little more than a bad omen,V.S. Naipaul,A House for Mr.Biswas,Pan MacMillan,0330487191,Fiction & related items,Modern fiction,Fiction

A House for MrBiswas VS Naipaul 9780330487191 Books Reviews

don't pay too much attention to MY review. i get restless with books where the main character takes so long to evolve. the book is so well written, there is so much to admire, but "in the end" i didn't make it to the ending because i failed the book. others may be more patient than i am and will be rewarded by reading a finely written book.
I always try to spot a special detail by Nobel Prize Winners -- in this case Trinidad and Tobago's Nobel Prize Literature Winner.
The Prologue prepares the reader for learning about the life of Mr Mohum Biswas. Right from the beginning the author refers to Mohun as Mr Biswas beginning when he was a baby and on to the end. This advances the main character a notch or two.
This novel exposes the reader to life in the Caribbean islands-country during the early days of World War II. Most of the characters are people from India who had decided to migrate to Trinidad and Tobago as a means to escape the Indian caste system.
I was taken in by the description of the living conditions of this particular group and its interactions as extended families with members trying to maintain their traditions while adjusting to conditions in the West -- in this case the mainly Port of Spain.
The reader is given the opportunity to have a taste of the former UK colony and one of its most important immigrant groups. The variations of the English language are wonderful.
A bit of warning Women, especially, and children included, are not treated well by modern standards.
The journey of Mr. Biswas from a sad beginning in the country to becoming a painter and a long road to being a journalist, and all the places he lived is marvelous and extremely captivating. The depiction of Indian people in Trinidad and how they protected the culture is fascinating and makes the reader want more. The relationships he had in his life, although many shallow including the one with his wife, is typical of the times and culture, and is a hard piece to describe. But V. S. Naipaul wrote it brilliantly, I could almost feel what the characters were feeling. Highly recommend- especially to understand the Indian culture of the time.
I have been a fan of the writing of V.S. Naipaul for some time, and I've been meaning to getting around to reading his career-making novel A House For Mr Biswas (1961). It is a rather long novel, so it has remained on the shelf (metaphorically speaking-since I read the ebook version). However, Naipaul's recent death and Barack Obama's recommendation as a summer read moved it up my book reading queue. And I'm glad I finally got around to reaing it. It is an epic comic novel with great dialogue and written in a grand style about the comic-tragic Mr Biswas. The scale and execution calls to mind another great darkly comedic novel-Cormac McCarthy's Suttree. Biswas is an Indian born on the tropical island of Trinidad who spends his life trying to live with dignity and achieve his life-long dream of becoming a home owner. It almost seems as if his life is merely a series of tragic-comedic events that follow one after another-humor and pathos can be found in every aspect of his life from his birth, too his life as a sign painter, to his marriage, and subsequent post-married family life spent mostly in the company of his wife's family and relations that gives that story much of its comic vitality as the petty squabbles and other interactions between the family relations and inhabitants of the shared housing community drive the story. Naipaul has created many unforgettable characters, Biswas and his manner of speaking is not the very least of these. I daresay I am tempted to add the job description of "crab catcher" to my arsenal of personal insults. I must say I unexpectedly enjoyed this novel much more than I anticipated and will probably steer me toward his earlier comedic novels as well. That being said, I am looking forward to getting around to the several other Naipaul penned books that I have designated for future reading.
A House For Mr. Biswas is largely a fictionalized biography of the author's father, an ethnic Indian who was born and lived his life in Trinidad in the early decades of the 20th century. Born into a roughly middle class family and a highly structured and ritualized Hindu lifestyle, Mr. Biswas (and this is how he is referred to, even as a newborn) unwittingly marries into a large, relatively prosperous, multi-generational Indian family (The Tulsis). These in-laws provide insurance against his frequent failures; however never fail to rankle him with their condescension and sarcasm as he attempts "to paddle his own boat." Virtually the entire book chronicles his struggle to escape the Tulsi orbit, symbolized by his yearning for and pursuit of his own dwelling.

The novel is instructive in its depiction of life on the Caribbean island during the period surrounding the two World Wars of the early twentieth century. The interaction between the ethnic Indians, the natives of the island and the mixed race inhabitants is also of some interest. All in all, however, the story fails to capture the reader's interest and becomes little more than a recitation of chronological events, many of whom seem to repeat themselves ad infinitum.

While the title character's struggles are sometimes inspiring (but almost universally unsuccessful), it is difficult to become emotionally invested in his endeavors for the simple reason that he is not an exceptionally pleasant or "good" person. In fact, he is a miserable human being; an awful husband, a terrible father, an ungrateful, whining, complaining, lazy, two faced, hypocritical liar and spendthrift. His many failures are almost pre-destined and fail to engender any kind of sympathy (except for his long suffering wife and children, who were it not for Mr. Biswas's in-laws would have likely starved to death).

The story is not without its interesting vignettes, but they are far fewer than one would hope for in a novel of this repute.