India: A Wounded Civilization

Naipaul is not a much-liked figure in India. There are good reasons for it. First, nation-states do not like being condemned or harshly judged, and India is no exception. Second, if a writer in his bashing enthusiasm goes on hitting while ignoring some key facts about a particular people and their h......more

If you are an Indian with a national pride, I would be surprised if you get through this book with your pride still afloat. Naipaul literally rips through the Indian psyche in an uncompromising and practical manner. Every aspect of India, its education system, its mindset, its administrative setup,......more

This is a book about India, but it could be about "oriental fatalism" more generally, which Naipaul never ceased to notice or despise. Naipaul criticizes the psychology of Hinduism from the perspective of someone who is culturally Hindu himself. He engages in his usual curmudgeonly tourism and share......more

A fascinating view of India during the Emergency in 1975-1976. Naipaul has a very negative view of India and its obsession with Gandhism. A good quote that sums up his viewpoint is ‘Gandhi swept through India, but he has left it without an ideology. He awakened the Holy land; his mahatmahood returne......more

The great G. K. Chesterton once noted that he had an idea for a novel that he was either “too busy or too lazy" to actualize. The plot concerned a yachtsman who through miscalculation lands in England when he believes he’s discovered a new island in the South Pacific. Despite some beautiful prose, I......more