by V.S.Naipaul (Author), V. S. Naipaul (Author), V.S. Naipaul (Author)
In a Free State deals in displacement. It tells first of an Indian servant in Washington, then of an Asian West Indian in London who is in jail for murder. Then the story moves to Africa, to a fictional country something like Uganda or Rwanda. The two main characters are English. They once found Africa liberating, but now it has gone sour on them. At a time of tribal conflict they have to make the long drive to the safety of their compound. In the background, the threat of violence looms.The voices in this novel are breathtakingly vivid, while the characters are portrayed with an intelligence and sensitivity that is rarely seen in contemporary writing. Dennis Potter described the book as one 'of such lucid complexity and such genuine insight, so deft and deep, that it somehow manages to agitate, charm, amuse and excuse the reader all at the same pitch of experience'. This is one of V.S. Naipaul's greatest novels, hard but full of pity.
Format: paperback
Publisher: Picador
Published:
ISBN 10: 0330487051
ISBN 13: 9780330487054
Book Overview: The author has been awarded the Booker Prize, the John Llwewelyn Rhys Memorial Prize, the Hawthorneden Prize, the WH Smith award and the David Cohen British Literature award.