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India: A Wounded Civilization (Paperback)

~ V.S. Naipaul (Author)
3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)

List Price: $12.95
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India: A Wounded Civilization + An Area of Darkness + The Middle Passage
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Editorial Reviews

Review

?Extraordinarily forceful. . . . Naipaul is an elegantly precise and exacting writer.? ?Newsweek

?A deep pleasure to read. . . . Adventurous, inquiring, observant, penetrating, intelligent.? ?The Washington Post Book World

?Typical Naipaul?brilliantly lucid, terse, with something hardbitten yet resigned in the emotional background.? ?The New York Times Book Review
-- Review


Review

“Extraordinarily forceful. . . . Naipaul is an elegantly precise and exacting writer.” –Newsweek

“A deep pleasure to read. . . . Adventurous, inquiring, observant, penetrating, intelligent.” –The Washington Post Book World

“Typical Naipaul–brilliantly lucid, terse, with something hardbitten yet resigned in the emotional background.” –The New York Times Book Review

Product Details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage (April 8, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1400030757
  • ISBN-13: 978-1400030750
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,529 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #18 in  Books > History > Asia > India
    #24 in  Books > Travel > Asia > India

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India: A Wounded Civilization
76% buy the item featured on this page:
India: A Wounded Civilization 3.1 out of 5 stars (29)
$9.20
An Area of Darkness
8% buy
An Area of Darkness 4.1 out of 5 stars (18)
$10.17
The Middle Passage
6% buy
The Middle Passage 4.2 out of 5 stars (5)
$10.17
India: A Million Mutinies Now
5% buy
India: A Million Mutinies Now 4.3 out of 5 stars (15)

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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews
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 (8)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (5)
2 star:
 (8)
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Average Customer Review
3.1 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Impressionistic history . . ., January 23, 2006
Nobody writes like V.S. Naipaul. Nobody. His visual descriptions of ordinary people always hit the nail on the head. His central theme is the vibrant, pulsating, intellectual Hindu civilization has been dominated for too long--first, and longest, by the Muslim invaders and second, most recently, by the English. After the initial burst of optimism following independance, India has faced one obstacle after another, turning inward, revealing a 'wounded civilization,' a stilted culture who doesn't know herself anymore or what made her great. I'm not sure if I'm smart enough to comment on this theme . . . it is sort of an impressionistic history that cannot be divined by ordinary historical models. Using his own methods of analysis, V.S. Naipaul may not be an ideal person to do this analysis because like Ghandi and Nehru he studied(and, in his case, was born)outside India. This theme of exile and what is learned is brought back again and again. Naipaul writes with vigor. His words are a joy to read and ponder over. In some ways this is his most personal book.
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27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars a brilliant essay, July 12, 2003
By Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This is not academic work that tries to cover an issue from some kind of systematic methodology that is currently in fashion. Instead, it is an extremely dense essay by an original novelist on what makes India what it is: chaotic, without a sense of historical continuity - his contrast with the European narrative that moves from the Middle Ages through the Renaissance/Reformation and Enlightenment to the industrial democracies is absolutely fascinating and yet deliciously succinct - and struggling to forge a modern identity in the post-colonial independence. What the reader gets is an interpretation, the details of which (s)he must fill in or debate oneself. Naipaul even does brilliant literary criticism of contemporary Indian novels in this book to shed light on his ideas, which as anecdotal and quirky as they are are always interesting. Disagree we might, but he stimulates even in error. Even after almost 30 years from its original publication, this essay is worth the read, if only to explore the reasoning behind rejecting it (I couldn't totally).

Warmly recommended.

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Glimpse Into India, August 24, 2006
By Derrell Piper (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Perhaps it was the setting, for I read this book in its entirety on an overnight flight to Delhi where I was about to immerse myself in northern India for about a month. But it's a fantastic book that seemed to me throughout my journeys to be as relevant today as it was when it was published in 1976. There's no way to really explain India to someone from the west who's not been there, but V.S. Naipaul's writings are a glimpse into the hope and hopelessness that is India.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Ravings of a demented mind
The second book in his Trilogy about India. This book is set in the mid to late 70s that is in when the country is in the throes of Emergency. Read more
Published 3 months ago by K. Khambadkone

2.0 out of 5 stars Will not recommend
I am Indian and could not agree with Lukas Jackson's comments more. I would only like to add one other comment though. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Gayathri athreya

3.0 out of 5 stars V.S. Naipaul: A Wounded Indian Heart
For me, this book was more about Naipaul himself than India. His effort, intellectual labour, disappointment, pain, anger, all reflects how much he cared about India - a country... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Reader

1.0 out of 5 stars A book written don't know why.
A complete crap.
I had not read any book in my life like this. First of all, the writing is completely unstructured. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Vipulkumar D. Parmar

4.0 out of 5 stars Overall a pretty accurate portrayal of India
You can give a few stars for any book by Naipaul just for his writing genius. This book about India is a fairly accurate portrayal of the conditions in India in the 70s... Read more
Published 15 months ago by ARK

4.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant but flawed and ignorant about India.
Sir Vidyadhar is perhaps one of the most brilliant writers of English, as to prose style and thoughtful, philosophical content. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Aurjoon K. Ghosh

1.0 out of 5 stars Naipaul: A Mentally Wounded Intellectual
It is unforgivable when a noble prize winner in literature ignores or simply does not understand "Author's Voice". Read more
Published on June 25, 2007 by Harsh Bhasin

2.0 out of 5 stars from the eyes of a coconut
in india, a coconut in the sociological context refers to one who is brown outside and white inside - an indian who pretends to be an european and is ashamed of his own native... Read more
Published on April 16, 2007 by N. Chandran

3.0 out of 5 stars somewhat insightful, dated
The important thing to know if you are considering this book is that many of its insights are obsolete as the book was written in the 1970's and references many specific... Read more
Published on March 12, 2007 by K. D WATSON

2.0 out of 5 stars Very Mildly Interesting
I picked up this book after reading Naipaul's AMONG THE BELIEVERS, which I thought to be an interesting view of the Muslim world, so often shrouded by polemic and ideology in this... Read more
Published on September 22, 2006 by Lukas Jackson

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