
V.S. Naipaul has died - stokedmartin
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/11/obituaries/vs-naipaul-dead-author-nobel-prize.html
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savanaly
I got interested in V.S. Naipaul after reading this essay-- well technically a
book review of a Naipaul biography-- by Christopher Hitchens-- Cruel and
Unusual [0]. It explains and summarizes Naipaul's literary significance as
well as the fascinating fact that he acted very badly in his personal life. I
read his Middle Passage travelogue after that after I read that and it did not
disappoint as far as callousness goes. Although I wouldn't exactly say that it
is what we should aspire to I did like it in its own way.

[0]
[https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/cruel-a...](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/11/cruel-
and-unusual/307073/)

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2sk21
One that becomes clear is that V. S. Naipaul is probably the least sympathetic
literary figure ever.

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cambalache
Good authors write good literature. An adult should not look for more in a
writer. Give me Celine, Houellebecq and Naipaul one million times before the
well-behaved, PC, generic , boring writer who tend to populate current prizes
and recommended lists.

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erikpukinskis
Is “well-behaved, PC, generic, and boring” really the central alternative to
“entirely unsympathetic”?

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prepend
Frequently, yes. Theoretically, you can have an artist that is well-behaved
and interesting. But we don’t get to make that choice and you can’t custom
order creativity to take the good bits and leave the bad bits (although crispr
gets better and better).

Especially since if you start blocking out the unsympathetic artists early in
their career due to being jerks and criminals and whatnot, this would have
prevented many of the great artists.

For example a letter in 1968 shows John Lennon as a wife beater amongst other
deplorable things [0]. Stopping him at this point would have deprived the
world of many creations.

[0] [https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lennon-was-a-bully-and-
ch...](https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lennon-was-a-bully-and-cheat-
housekeeper-told-lawyers-kjctffw0chf)

~~~
erikpukinskis
Would it have deprived the world, or would the world have turned its attention
to another artist? What reason do we have to think no one else would’ve
stepped into Lennon’s niche?

~~~
prepend
I think it’s impossible to know, but 50 years later and there’s no Lennon. If
you don’t care about art or beauty being uniquely special,it doesn’t matter.

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iguy
Another article today (although actually an interview from 1998) with more
focus on his work & what it's about:

[https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/08/vs-
naipau...](https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/08/vs-
naipaul-1932-2018-king-literary-rootlessness)

A sad day. It seems to me that his themes of displacement, and cultural
mismatches & how they affect people, keep becoming more important. We do a lot
of shouting about these issues now, in the Western world in 2018 I mean; but
he was never shouting, just digging into people's varied stories, and
especially their disappointments, and trying to make sense of them.

~~~
sridca
> Racial equality and assimilation are attractive but only underline the loss,
> since to accept assimilation is in a way to accept permanent inferiority.

Interesting. Anyone got details (background and context) on this quote?

~~~
iguy
Not this exact quote. But something like this is a theme in many of his books,
often applied to himself, and to other people who've moved to western
countries (or, into western-derived cultures).

It's also close to a theme of _Among the Believers_ etc, where (to paraphrase
crudely!) he comes to view non-arab muslims as being in some sense immigrants
to an Arab-centred culture, with some of the same feelings of loss.

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lil_chicken
Fun fact: A song from a musical adaptation of Naipaul's novel "A House for Mr.
Biswas" was re-adapted and used as the theme for James Bond movies.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EuzGhIyRQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6EuzGhIyRQ)

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Mediterraneo10
Does anyone else feel that V.S. Naipaul dropped off the radar as soon as he
won the Nobel Prize? I heard his name constantly in the 1990s and very early
millennium, but after he won the Nobel it feels like there was not only a
decline in his output, but in his cultural presence in general.

~~~
pvg
His output had gone down by the late 70s, he got the Nobel in 2001 at age 68,
past the age many people retire. It's not like he collected the prize and
Salingered out.

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flak48
What did Salinger do?

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biztos
Salinger became a recluse, more or less, because he hated the publicity and
attention that came with his literary success.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Salinger)

~~~
pvg
Well, he did come back to create the game popular TV game show _Hollywoo Stars
and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things?? Let 's Find Out!_

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classichasclass
"The Nightwatchman's Occurrence Book" remains one of my favourite short
stories ever since I read it in high school lit class. A truly curious author.

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jackallis
Naipual=Nepal. He found out where his ancestors originated from and mentioned
that during his speech.

