V S Naipaul

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born on 17th August 1932 in Chaguanas, Caroni County, Trinidad and Tobago. He is of British Nationality and is a Novelist, Travel Writer and Essayist. He has published thirty books, both on fiction as well as non-fiction. V S Naipaul was born to Seepersad Naipaul and Droapatie. His grandfather went to work as an indentured labor in Trinidad and his father became a Journalist. His family shifted to Port of Spain, where Naipaul took admission in a government Queen’s Royal College and after graduation Naipaul won the Trinidad Government Scholarship that gave him the opportunity to study in any institution established by Britishers and he went to Oxford University.

Naipaul met Patricia Ann Hale during a play and became friends with her. He wrote a novel but it didn’t get good responses and he doubted his abilities. He went back to his place in 1953 after graduating and his father died at that time, so he took up jobs to support the family. He got opportunity to work as a presenter in the Caribbean Voices and he was there for a part time job. He and Pat married without informing their families about it. While working as a presenter he wrote Bogart, the first story of Miguel Street. The editor of Andre Deutsch, Diana Athill, asked Naipaul to write another novel and Naipaul came up with The Mystic Masseur, which was published in 1955.

He came back to Trinidad to his family and there he wrote a comic book on the rural elections named The Suffrage of Elvira. In 1957 he took up a full time job of editorial assistant at Cement and Concrete Association and he reviewed books as well for the New Statesman for four years. The Mystic Masseur received John Llewellyn Rhys Prize in 1958 and Somerset Maugham Award after three years. He is the first non-European to achieve this honor. In 1961, he wrote a book called A House For Mr Biswas, getting inspiration from his father and took three years to complete the book.

He says that he created a new world for himself through this novel. He visited India and wrote a book about the journey as well which was called An Area Of Darkness. He wrote A Flag On The Island as a story for a movie. The director didn’t like it and the movie isn’t yet made, but many people liked the story. He then wrote The Mimic Men, which was different from his earlier books, and it received good response from everyone. He then got an opportunity from an American Publisher to write a book on Little Brown Company based on the Port of Spain, and in two years he came up with The Loss of El Dorado. The publishers rejected the book, but instead, Alfred A Knopf agreed to publish it in the USA and Andre Deutsch in Britain.

In the 1970’s his relationship with his wife was strained, but they managed to be together until she died in 1996 and then Naipaul married Nadira Khannum Alvi Naipaul. He wrote In Free State in 1971 for which he received Bookers Prize and then wrote great books like A Bend In The River, A Way in The World, Half a Life, and The Masque Of Africa is the recent one. He got the Noble Prize for literature in the year 2001. His fans still are expecting more great novels from him.