圖書標籤: Naipaul
发表于2025-01-21
A Bend In The River pdf epub mobi txt 電子書 下載 2025
Review
'Brilliant and terrifying' Observer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"For sheer abundance of talent, there ca hardly be a writer alive who surpasses V.S. Naipaul." —The New York Times Book Review
"Confirms Naipaul's position as one of the best writers now at work." —Walter Clemons, Newsweek
"The sweep of Naipaul's imagination, the brilliant fictional frame that expresses it, are in my view without equal today." —Elizabeth Hardwick
115 of 124 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is not really fiction, April 14, 2000
By Ed Gibbon www.congocookbook.com (Washington DC) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Bend in the River (Paperback)
Naipaul's "A Bend in the River" is almost as much reportage as fiction. The novel is set in the city of Kisangani, on the Congo River in Congo (formerly the Zaire river in Zaire) -- though interestingly, the author never says this explicitly. I have never seen an account as to what Naipaul's experiences in Zaire were exactly, but he manages to tell the story of the early days of Zaire's independence, after colonial rule as the Belgian Congo.
The protagonist is a young Indian from the Eastern coast. ("Indian" in the sense of his ethnicity, his family has been in Africa longer than they can remember.) He has purchased a shop in Kisangani, and trys to build up his business as the "big man" consolidates power in the newly independent country. Things go from bad to worse, for the new shopkeeper and the country. Though this is fiction, every word is true.
Naipaul writes beautifully, and has many insights into Africa, colonialism, history, and life. This is one of the few books that I have read and enjoyed more than once.
Some people recommend Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" to readers looking for an "African" novel. But to recommend "Things Fall Apart" over "A Bend in the River" makes sense only if you can read just a single book about Africa. Achebe's novel is set in Nigeria; Naipaul's is about Zaire. It's like saying don't bother with "Brothers Karamozov", read "Great Expectations" instead. I should hope a serious reader would turn his attention to both.
(The last days of the Belgian Congo is the setting for Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible". Many good nonfiction stories from this time and place are found in "A Doctor's Life: Unique Stories" by William T. Close. A literary approach to the early days of the Belgian Congo is Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".)
V.S.奈保爾(1932—2018 )
英國著名作傢。1932年生於特立尼達島上一個印度移民傢庭,1950年進入牛津大學攻讀英國文學,畢業後遷居倫敦。
50年代開始寫作,著有《米格爾街》、《斯通先生與騎士夥伴》、《自由國度》、《大河灣》、“印度三部麯”、《非洲的假麵劇》等。20 01年榮獲諾貝爾文學奬。
《河湾》,奈保尔关于后殖民时代非洲的名作。因为奈保尔对后殖民地国家(加勒比海、南美、非洲、南亚等等)的批评,他被认为是保守的“右派”,但是很多时候,奈保尔的批评也未尝没有道理。就以非洲为例,殖民地时代结束几十年了,我们还是一直听到那片大陆传来的战争、饥荒、...
評分这个世界,时间挑选着历史,历史挑选着政治,政治挑选着生活,生活挑选着我们。不,这甚至不是一种挑拣,世界只是在不经意间成就它所毁灭的,毁灭它所成就的。而有时,我们会错误地反过来相信这点,相信未来的辉煌,相信文明的胜利。这相信背后,藏有我们看不到的、夕阳余晖般...
評分 評分依然选取了移民视角,展现一地一国的变迁,主人公一出场,就面临一个身份的问题——家族早早移民于此,丢失历史,却又拘泥于传统,来得太久以至于无路可退,与当地人无法融合,在动荡乱世中无法保护自己。无法自处,这个问题不仅在印度裔身上产生,也在早已失去征服者姿态的阿...
評分《河湾》,奈保尔关于后殖民时代非洲的名作。因为奈保尔对后殖民地国家(加勒比海、南美、非洲、南亚等等)的批评,他被认为是保守的“右派”,但是很多时候,奈保尔的批评也未尝没有道理。就以非洲为例,殖民地时代结束几十年了,我们还是一直听到那片大陆传来的战争、饥荒、...
A Bend In The River pdf epub mobi txt 電子書 下載 2025