Discussion: Half a Life by V.S. Naipaul

Book chosen by: Fe

Meeting date: Monday 13th October 2008

Meeting location: Newtown

About the author:

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was born in 1932 Trinidad and has both Hindu and East Indian heritage. He now lives in the UK.

Knighted in 1990 for his contribution to literature.

Has won the Booker Prize in 1971, Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 and the David Cohen Prize in 1993.

Comes from a family of published authors.

Book synopsis:

From wikipedia:

Willie Somerset Chandran is the son of a Brahmin father and a Dalit mother. His father gave him his middle name as a homage to the English writer Somerset Maugham who had visited him in the temple where he was living under a vow of silence. Having come to despise his father, Willie leaves India to go to 1950s London to study. There he leads a life as poor immigrant and later he writes a book of short stories and manages to publish it.

Willie gets a call from Ana, a mixed Portuguese and black African girl and admirer of his book, one day and they arrange to meet. They fall in love and Willie follows her to her country (an unnamed Portuguese colony in Africa, presumably Mozambique). Meanwhile Willie's sister Sarojini marries a German and moves to Berlin. The novel ends with Willie having moved to his sister's place in Berlin after his 18 year stay in Africa.

What we said about the book:

• Poetic
• Lovely language but it stopped and started.
• Many readers experienced a level of discomfort with the book. Was it the sudden stop/starts in the narrative or the jumps in time, or the gaps in time not filled in?
• Despite discomfort many would like to read more of V.S.Naipaul for the quality of the writing.
• Some felt there was quite a negative spin on women and that men were more "vividly described" in the book.
• Some readers wondered was there something they didn't get about the book, the author, the story? He is so highly regarded yet many of those present didn't enjoy the read.
• There is a sequel to this book: Magic Seeds which starts from when Willie returns to Berlin.

Then we got sidetracked onto the following:

• Bad drivers.
• That E-tags make travelling over the 'great divide' (the harbour) so much easier. As we get older it is too hard to remember to ring and pay each time we use the bridge.
• Where to have our Christmas dinner this year - to BYO or to not BYO that is the question.
• The importance of Font choice in different formats: news vs novels vs internet
• What will be in the London Olympics opening ceremony... our guesses.

Overall rating: 6.5/10 (8 reviewers. Highest score: 9 Lowest score: 5)