VS Naipaul: In the end, only his literary genius matters

Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad (VS) Naipaul: Aug 17, 1932-Aug 11, 2018

In A House For Mr Biswas (1961) by V.S. Naipaul, the opening sentence reads, “Ten weeks before he died, Mr Mohun Biswas, a journalist of Sikkim Street, St James, Port of Spain, was sacked.” And with that, sets the tone for this great Dickensian novel.

What a line. So full of irony, pathos, and callousness. I read the novel with my head filled with visuals of my father on a bicycle on his way to work daily, just like the protagonist, grim, in his starched white shirt and trousers, to face his om puteh boss.