Synopsis
‘His narrative skill is spectacular. One returns with pleasure to the slow hand-in-hand revelations of both India and himself’ – The Times
An Area of Darkness is V. S. Naipaul’s semi-autobiographical account of his first visit to India, the land of his forebears. At once painful and hilarious, but always thoughtful and considered.
He was twenty-nine years old; he stayed for a...
Details
03 October 2024304 pages
9781035051809Imprint: Picador
Reviews
Brilliant . . . true autobiography arises when a man encounters something in his life which shocks him into the need for self-examination and self-exploration. It was natural that a sojourn in India should provide this shock for Naipaul. The experience was not a pleasant one, but the pain the author suffered was creative rather than numbing. An Area of Darkness is tender, lyrical, explosive and cruelObserver
Written with the expected beauty of style . . . Instead of diminishing life, Naipaul ennobles itAnthony Burgess
The conclusion is both heart-breaking and bracing: the only antidote to destruction – of dreams, of reality – is remembering. As eloquently as anyone now writing, Naipaul remembersThe Times
A wonderful book . . . a magical bookThe Independent
