Return of Eva Peron [Hardcover]

V. S. Naipaul (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 12, 1980

Michael X in Trinidad, Peronism in Argentina, the cult of Kingship in Mobutu's Zaire - the author brings his novelist's questioning to bear upon the "half-made" societies, those still suffering from the profound deprivations of colonialism and prey to corruption.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 227 pages
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1st edition (March 12, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0394509684
• ISBN-13: 978-0394509686
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #372,855 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but unsparingly critical view of Argentina, Zaire, November 19, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (San Francisco, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return of Eva Peron (Hardcover)

This book consists of three seperate essays, written in the 1970s, which analyze historical events in Argentina, Zaire, and Trinidad. The writing is excellent and full of Naipaul's characteristic incisive insights into culture and history, but one needs to start with some interest and knowledge of the areas covered. The first essay, on Argentina in the early 1970s and the cult of Eva Peron is the best and longest. Reading the essay in Argentina last year, I found many of its brilliant insights on Argentine culture and history to still hold true. The weakness of the essay is its unsparingly critical stance. There is a mocking bitterness and that comes through in Naipual's perspective, which shows no sympathy for those who have to pay the consequences for the tragedies of history. For example, the section on Uruguay ends by noting that at the height of emigration, there was graffiti on the wall saying "last one to leave please turn out the lights." The second essay, on Mobutu Sese Seko's corrupt regime in Zaire is much shorter. It is a short, but in no way sweet. Mobutu deserved no less. The third essay, on a spate of violence in Trinidad, (Naipaul's birthplace) is less important and far less interesting. It chronicles the absurd pretentions and bloody deeds of a wanna-be black nationalist and has little larger significance. I did not find it worth reading.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating history, July 12, 2001

By 

P. Vitale (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Return of Eva Peron (Hardcover)

The three main essays in this book are incredible: The story of Michael X, the Return of Eva Peron,and the focus on the (at the time) emerging nation of Zaire--once again The Congo. I'll tell you the truth I was terribly bored with everything I had been reading lately. I couldn't put this book down. I shall now attempt to read anything by Mr. Naipaul, who has a gift, yes a gift of communicating complex ideas without making me feel stupid. . .I suppose I was fortunate to find this book on my shelf as I see it is out of print. You folks out there who consider yourselves internationalists or "third worldists" especially you political radicals, please find this book and read it. You may want to compare the Argentine section to Edwardo Galleano's "Days and Nights in Love and War" . . .

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars What Naipaul Does In His Off Hours, August 10, 2002

By 

Ryan "Big Reader" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Return of Eva Peron (Hardcover)

This collection of essays was written at a time when, according to Naipaul, no novels were coming to him. However, when he was through with these three journalistic essays, he found himself with the material (and treatments) for two.

The first essay is the story of Michael X, the half-Portuguese black power man from Trinidad. Naipaul writes frankly about this very complex but ultimately pathetic man. The essay became the kernel for "Guerillas," where the details of Michael X's story, right down to the literary ambitions and the murders, became good fiction.

The second essay is Naipaul's very harsh look at Argentina. South America is a mystery to most North Americans, and Naipaul takes pains to highlight what he considers its lesser history. The reader is left with the sense of a society that never really stopped the foolish quest for El Dorado; one with all the of the guilt of the North American societies (Indian genocides, shameless land grabs) but none of the redeeming triumphs. Particularly astute are his descriptions of Buenos Aires, which he describes as a half-city. Despite this essay's (and the book's) title, there is very little about Eva Peron. Madonna tells that story better than Naipaul.

The last full-length essay is a profile of Zaire, the former Belgian Congo (now known again as the Congo). In reading this essay you will understand why many people believe Naipaul is little more than a sunburned racist. His knack for zeroing in on the pathetic aspects of societies just finding their way is sometimes overdone and in bad taste. But it is honest. I felt guilty, laughing at his anecdotes of this troubled region and its people. Naipaul could learn a thing or two from Nick Carraway, the narrator of Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" ... 'Whenever you feel like criticizing any one, just remember that all the people in this word haven't had all the advantages that you've had.' It's a very simple quote, and Naipaul should take it to heart. In any event, this book became the treatment for "Bend in the River," and people familiar with that book will find that much of its fiction is actually fact.

The last essay is a word about Conrad, whom Naipaul only barely praises. After so much literary comparison, I supposed Naipaul felt obligated to write a bit of criticism. It's a postscript, and very forgettable.