V. S. Naipaul Quotes

A collection of quotes by V. S. Naipaul.

V. S. Naipaul, born as Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul on August 17, 1932, in Trinidad and Tobago, was a renowned British writer of Indian descent. He is considered one of the greatest English-language novelists of the 20th century. Naipaul's early life was shaped by his multicultural background and experiences in the Caribbean.

In 1950, Naipaul moved to England to pursue higher education, where he studied at University College, Oxford. After completing his studies, he embarked on a successful writing career. His works often explored themes of colonialism, post-colonialism, and the experience of diaspora. He crafted vivid portrayals of characters struggling with cultural displacement, personal identity, and alienation.

Naipaul's breakthrough novel, "A House for Mr Biswas" (1961), drew heavily from his own experiences and received critical acclaim. He continued to produce numerous highly regarded works, including "In a Free State" (1971), which won the prestigious Booker Prize, and "A Bend in the River" (1979).

Throughout his career, Naipaul traveled extensively, particularly in the developing world, which heavily influenced his writing. His work was known for its sharp wit, keen social observation, and incisive exploration of complex human relationships.

In recognition of his literary achievements, Naipaul received numerous accolades, including the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. His unique voice and insightful commentary on the dynamics of post-colonial societies continue to resonate with readers around the world. Naipaul passed away on August 11, 2018, leaving behind a powerful and influential literary legacy.

Argentine political life is like the life of an ant communit

Argentine political life is like the life of an ant community or an African forest tribe: full of events, full of crisis and deaths, but life is always cyclical, and the year ends as it begins.

Life Death Theend Community

Life doesn't have a neat beginning and a tidy end, life is a

Life doesn't have a neat beginning and a tidy end, life is always going on. You should begin in the middle and end in the middle, and it should be all there.

What was past was past. I suppose that was the general attit

What was past was past. I suppose that was the general attitude.

It's very attractive to people to be a victim. Instead of ha

It's very attractive to people to be a victim. Instead of having to think out the whole situation, about history and your group and what you are doing... if you begin from the point of view of being a victim, you've got it half-made. I mean intellectually.

The writer is all alone.

The writer is all alone.

If you write a novel alone you sit and you weave a little na

If you write a novel alone you sit and you weave a little narrative. And it's O.K., but it's of no account.

One must always try to see the truth of a situation - it mak

One must always try to see the truth of a situation - it makes things universal.

I always knew who I was and where I had come from. I was not

I always knew who I was and where I had come from. I was not looking for a home in other people's lands.

Africa has no future.

Africa has no future.

I'm the kind of writer that people think other people are re

I'm the kind of writer that people think other people are reading.

Authors & Writing

To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your

To be converted you have to destroy your past, destroy your history. You have to stamp on it, you have to say 'my ancestral culture does not exist, it doesn't matter.'

It is important not to trust people too much.

It is important not to trust people too much.

The reason is that they define how I have gone about my busi

The reason is that they define how I have gone about my business. I have trusted to intuition. I did it at the beginning. I do it even now. I have no idea how things might turn out, where in my writing I might go next.

Home is, I suppose just a child's idea. A house at night, an

Home is, I suppose just a child's idea. A house at night, and a lamp in the house. A place to feel safe.

Great writing can be done in biography, history, art.

Great writing can be done in biography, history, art.

I went to India and met some people who had been involved in

I went to India and met some people who had been involved in this guerrilla business, middle-class people who were rather vain and foolish. There was no revolutionary grandeur to it. Nothing.

Trinidad may seem complex, but to anyone who knows it, it is

Trinidad may seem complex, but to anyone who knows it, it is a simple, colonial, philistine society.

Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, becaus

Some writers can only deal with childhood experience, because it's complete. For another kind of writer, life goes on, and he's able to keep processing that as well.

When I learnt to write I became my own master, I became very

When I learnt to write I became my own master, I became very strong, and that strength is with me to this very day.