V. S. Naipaul (Routledge Revivals) [Paperback]

First published in 1988, Peter Hughes explores the work of V. S. Naipaul, and the interplay of fictional and non-fictional patters in what is his obsessive vision of human life. Hughes shows how Naipauls narratives pair off histories and novels, travel-writing and psycho-biography, reinforcing one another and Naipauls vision of a world undoing itself; a world of disorder and fantasy. He includes a reading of Naipauls texts, usually considered highly traditional, that shows their innovative side, and points out ways that they can be illuminated through modern literary theory. A detailed analysis, this companion to V. S. Naipauls writing will interest students of modern literature and those with an interest in Naipauls writing more generally.

Preface and acknowledgements;  A note on the texts;  1. A world undoing itself  2. An end of the imagination  3. Islands in air  4. Trapdoors into a bottomless past  5. Plateaux of light;  Notes;  Bibliography