A House for Mr. Biswas

Rating:
Summary: Realism over sentiment-not fun to read, but worthwhile
Review: This early V.S. Naipaul novel is a detailed look at his father's life on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. While the book does at times bog down in relaying the details of a life that included mundane and ignoble aspects, it is saved by both Naipaul's astounding writing ability and the realism of the depictions. If you believe that great literature transports you to another place, it is impossible to dismiss this book. Few authors can capture the essence of a place and its people as Naipaul can.
Of course he has himself endured criticism, being called too detached and too negative, particularly in his depictions of developing countries. I for one welcome his critical approach, particularly given that so many `travel' books are by contrast superficial, rosy, and romantic. Is the latter type of approach really more respectful than investing time and energy in really trying to understand and immerse oneself within a culture?
In some ways this critique does not apply so much to this work, since Naipaul is not as disconnected; he is describing his own father as seen (largely) through his own eyes. But Naipaul's characteristic and often brutal observations and insights are here. It is often painful to read about the petty vanities and passive dismissals described here, but I feel Naipaul's tone is ultimately compassionate. I feel the message may be that it takes time for an oppressed culture made up of an amalgam of immigrants living in poverty to incubate heightened (self and other) awareness. This is certainly a controversial idea, and it cannot be totally dismissed by simply noting that people in `developed' countries often show very limited awareness and compassion as well.
Like so much of Naipaul's works, this is a realistic novel. It is about flawed individuals, but in the case of Mr. Biswas, who is (effectively) deprived even or a first name we come to feel for him nonetheless because we see what has made him this way and why he operates as he does. One certainly can learn a lot from studying exceptionally heroic and world-shaping personalities who appear to transcend their backgrounds and immediate environments. But there is also something to be said for those who, perhaps by necessity here, address the more modest goals of giving meaning to their life through subtle manipulation of their nearby environment. Perhaps Naipaul, who probably belongs more to the former category of people, is drawn in some ways to the latter lifestyle.
One final minor point. While I too couldn't help at points wishing for more action here, it should be noted that one section of the book (the end of part 1) in particular departs radically from the somewhat mundane narrative tone. This section is handled quite skillfully, and adds a depth not only to the narrative style but more importantly to Biswas' character.
A couple of the books this one connects with in my mind are A Bend in the River (my favorite by Naipaul also about cultural displacement), and Buddenbrooks (not my favorite by Thomas Mann, about family life.) 4.5 stars

Rating:
Summary: A mesmerizing, comic tale of post-colonial Mr Biswas.
Review: V. S. Naipaul' A House for Mr. Biswas is an exotic novel. He writes about Indians in Trinidad; his acute observations and fantastic skill at capturing each element of human life and emotion makes this novel endearing, lasting, rich, eternal. Having grown up with a desire to write myself, I find this novel as a beautiful piece that not only tells the story of Mr Biswas, but also should be read as a brilliant piece of work emerging from a writer's struggle and strife to define his childhood, the world he has grown up in, and the world he will always associate with his past.

The novel eventhough set in Trinidad captures essential elements of Indian classes struggling to live with hopes and dreams stiffled by the plain lack of money, labor or talent required to achieve them. The novel is brilliant in parts as well the whole: in parts where he describes the "sons and daddies" outside the examination center, where he describes the complex, contrived relationship between people; where he writes about the relationship between father and son; where he captures the jealousies, envies, anger, trust, hopelessness of family members; where he invokes imagery about festivities, death ceremony, birth. I could go on and on, for having lived in a society teeming with such instances, I was amazed with the ease and ability Naipaul has written about these.

The novel is witty, has comic relief, sarcasm, has bursts of sentimentality that arises due to strain between close relations, and is full of vivid colors, flavors, smells, images, sounds and characters of a strange world. I have always come across articles talking about Naipaul's distaste for India, for his acerbic wit, describing him as a controversial person full of scathing remarks. But after reading this book, I see myself saluting this man for writing such a frank, honest, culturally rich and emotionally correct novel. Our country and culture allows for existence for very complex characters, rooted in true or false beliefs, nurtured by social and historial chaos and Naipaul looks around and starts telling the tale with a vision of someone who has suffered and yet succeeded by coming out of this miasma. He describes the victims, and he also shows the way by which the victims can save themselves.

This is also a story about the desire to own, to possess a place that you can call your own. This is a story about how several dreams of the parents doused in the daily struggles of existence are later realized through their sons and daughters. This is a story of disorder, and of the underlying order. This is the story about characters and families, that like the House Mr Biswas eventually has for himself, present bright facades and paints outside, and internally struggle to stay up, together, useful and integrated, relying on each other. It indeed is a superb piece of literature!!