In A Free State : - Softcover

S. Naipaul, V.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0330487051 ISBN 13: 9780330487054

Publisher: Picador, 2002

Synopsis

In a Free State deals in displacement. It tells first of an Indian servant in Washington, then of an Asian West Indian in London who is in jail for murder. Then the story moves to Africa, to a fictional country something like Uganda or Rwanda. The two main characters are English. They once found Africa liberating, but now it has gone sour on them. At a time of tribal conflict they have to make the long drive to the safety of their compound. In the background, the threat of violence looms.The voices in this novel are breathtakingly vivid, while the characters are portrayed with an intelligence and sensitivity that is rarely seen in contemporary writing. Dennis Potter described the book as one 'of such lucid complexity and such genuine insight, so deft and deep, that it somehow manages to agitate, charm, amuse and excuse the reader all at the same pitch of experience'. This is one of V.S. Naipaul's greatest novels, hard but full of pity.

About this title

Review:

"V. S. Naipaul tells stories which show us ourselves and the reality we live in. His use of language is as precise as it is beautiful." -- "The London Times" "A Tolstoyan spirit....The so-called Third World has produced no more brilliant literary artist." --John Updike, "The New Yorker " "The coolest literary eye and the most lucid prose we have." "--The New York"

Book Description:

V.S. Naipaul's Booker Prize-winning novel set in an African state.

About this edition

• Publisher: Picador
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0330487051
• ISBN 13: 9780330487054
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256