In A Free State
(V S NAIPAUL)
In a Free State is a sequence of five works ? two
short stories (the prologue and the epilogue), two forty page novellas and a
one hundred and forty page short novel ? linked by a common theme. All are
about individuals stranded in foreign countries and confronted by alien
cultures. In One out of many an Indian servant is almost
accidentally transported to Washington,
where he finds a niche for himself but remains profoundly alienated from the
world around him. Tell Me Who to kill is the tragic story of a West
Indian who moves to London.
The novel In a Free State is about expatriate English civil
servants in a recently independent African state torn by civil war. And the
epilogue and prologue present the more detached view of an experienced traveler
writing in his journal.
In a Free State is one of the best works of fiction I have read
that deals with the subject of cultural incommensurability and the broken
symmetry of colonial relationships. Naipaul''s use of multiple stories helps him
present a more balanced perspective than a straightforward novel would have
allowed, the subject is one he has made his own, and his prose is up to its
usual high standard. There can have been little surprise when In a Free
State won the 1971 Booker Prize.
Resumos Relacionados
- The Gift Of The Magi
- The Life Of An Amorous Woman
- Interpreter Of Maladies
- Fireflies In The Dark
- ?a Comprehensive Guide On Human Rights Reporting For West African Journalists?
|
|
