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A House for Mr. Biswas: A Novel (Vintage International) by [Naipaul, V. S.]

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A House for Mr. Biswas: A Novel (Vintage International) Kindle Edition

by V. S. Naipaul (Author)

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"The Nobel Prize winner's first great novel" (Barack Obama), A House for Mr. Biswas is an unforgettable story inspired by Naipaul's father that has been hailed as one of the twentieth century's finest novels.

In his forty-six short years, Mr. Mohun Biswas has been fighting against destiny to achieve some semblance of independence, only to face a lifetime of calamity. Shuttled from one residence to another after the drowning death of his father, for which he is inadvertently responsible, Mr. Biswas yearns for a place he can call home. But when he marries into the domineering Tulsi family on whom he indignantly becomes dependent, Mr. Biswas embarks on an arduous– and endless–struggle to weaken their hold over him and purchase a house of his own. A heartrending, dark comedy of manners, A House for Mr. Biswas masterfully evokes a man’s quest for autonomy against an emblematic post-colonial canvas.

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Product details

File Size: 1750 KB
Print Length: 578 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (October 20, 2010)
Publication Date: October 20, 2010
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B0046A9J9S
Text-to-Speech: Enabled

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Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled
Lending: Not Enabled
Screen Reader: Supported

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,435 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #17 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Middle Eastern
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- #25 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > French

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Alex Canton-Dutari

From baby to adult: Mr Biswas

March 8, 2013

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I always try to spot a special detail by Nobel Prize Winners -- in this case Trinidad and Tobago's Nobel Prize Literature Winner.
The Prologue prepares the reader for learning about the life of Mr Mohum Biswas. Right from the beginning the author refers to Mohun as Mr Biswas beginning when he was a baby and on to the end. This advances the main character a notch or two.
This novel exposes the reader to life in the Caribbean islands-country during the early days of World War II. Most of the characters are people from India who had decided to migrate to Trinidad and Tobago as a means to escape the Indian caste system.
I was taken in by the description of the living conditions of this particular group and its interactions as extended families with members trying to maintain their traditions while adjusting to conditions in the West -- in this case the mainly Port of Spain.
The reader is given the opportunity to have a taste of the former UK colony and one of its most important immigrant groups. The variations of the English language are wonderful.
A bit of warning: Women, especially, and children included, are not treated well by modern standards.

16 people found this helpful

Comment

An Epic Comedic Masterpiece

September 30, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have been a fan of the writing of V.S. Naipaul for some time, and I've been meaning to getting around to reading his career-making novel A House For Mr Biswas (1961). It is a rather long novel, so it has remained on the shelf (metaphorically speaking-since I read the ebook version). However, Naipaul's recent death and Barack Obama's recommendation as a summer read moved it up my book reading queue. And I'm glad I finally got around to reaing it. It is an epic comic novel with great dialogue and written in a grand style about the comic-tragic Mr Biswas. The scale and execution calls to mind another great darkly comedic novel-Cormac McCarthy's Suttree. Biswas is an Indian born on the tropical island of Trinidad who spends his life trying to live with dignity and achieve his life-long dream of becoming a home owner. It almost seems as if his life is merely a series of tragic-comedic events that follow one after another-humor and pathos can be found in every aspect of his life from his birth, too his life as a sign painter, to his marriage, and subsequent post-married family life spent mostly in the company of his wife's family and relations that gives that story much of its comic vitality as the petty squabbles and other interactions between the family relations and inhabitants of the shared housing community drive the story. Naipaul has created many unforgettable characters, Biswas and his manner of speaking is not the very least of these. I daresay I am tempted to add the job description of "crab catcher" to my arsenal of personal insults. I must say I unexpectedly enjoyed this novel much more than I anticipated and will probably steer me toward his earlier comedic novels as well. That being said, I am looking forward to getting around to the several other Naipaul penned books that I have designated for future reading.

One person found this helpful

Comment

November 11, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A House for Mr. Biswas is one of my favorite books. Poor Mr. B.: all he wants is to live with his nuclear family without interference from his horde of inlaws. Desperately funny much of the time, this is still a very sad and even tragic book. Naipaul's skill at character development and plot surprises keeps the reader fully engaged.

7 people found this helpful

Comment

Brilliantly captured life of an ordinary man’s not so ordinary life.

September 3, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The journey of Mr. Biswas from a sad beginning in the country to becoming a painter and a long road to being a journalist, and all the places he lived is marvelous and extremely captivating. The depiction of Indian people in Trinidad and how they protected the culture is fascinating and makes the reader want more. The relationships he had in his life, although many shallow including the one with his wife, is typical of the times and culture, and is a hard piece to describe. But V. S. Naipaul wrote it brilliantly, I could almost feel what the characters were feeling. Highly recommend- especially to understand the Indian culture of the time.

One person found this helpful

Comment

Unrecognized Classic

March 19, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

I recommend this book to anyone. Naipaul writes a sensitive and sympathetic life of a man and a family in a particular point in time and place, which is to say nothing about why the book is great. It is great because it simply holds up an individual and shows him in all of his ordinary-ness and glory and that the two qualities are inherent in everyone. This book makes the reader a better person, or can. This is not the place for a full review so just get it and read it. Check it out from the library or e-read it if necessary.

I am very impressed with the quality of this printing. The book is solid and comfortable. The paper and type are enjoyable to feel and to read. I gave it as a gift but would not mind someone giving me a copy!

7 people found this helpful

Comment

August 6, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

My favorite novel.

I am re-reading it because I nominated it for the book club I belong to.
I love the simultaneously funny and tragic wording and the heart breaking throw away moments that Naipaul slips into the narrative.
It is beautifully written.
Mr Biswas might have written it himself.

The diaspora of ethnic South Asians to such places as the Caribbean and Africa is not much known so this is also an eye opener to another culture.

5 people found this helpful

Comment

Amazon Customer

It is not exactly easy to read

June 22, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very interesting book. It is not exactly easy to read, many times I caught myself hating the characters other times cheering for them, then they disappoint me somehow, etc... The book presents so many perspectives, so many characters, that it is impossible to not develop empathy for each of them. Regarding the story itself, there are parts where many things happen, while in others it seems like a long waiting, just like life. I am a fan of the author and this was the harder book to read. (in a good, but painful way)

3 people found this helpful

Comment

Amazon sent two copies, still a good novel

September 29, 2018

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

I ordered one copy of this book, one copy of another novel by this author. Unfortunately, opened package too late, discovered two copies of House for Mr. Biswas, cannot now return the extra copy. Fine book by fine novelist, by the way. Also recommend A Bend in the River, which is what I was trying to order. Perhaps I will make a gift of the second copy of Biswas, but lately Amazon service has been pretty erratic. I may have to return to brick-and-mortar stores, if there are any left.

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