V.S. Naipaul: East Indian-West Indian

Abstract

As a writer who has twice suffered displacement, from his ancestral land and his native island of Trinidad in the West Indies, V.S. Naipaul brings an extra dimension to the notion of post-colonial writing. Whether he opts for the short story or the novel form, for the travel narrative or the personal interview, it soon becomes apparent that Naipaul’s biography is inseparable from his work. This article analyzes how Naipaul’s Indian heritage, inextricably linked to the memory of his father, Seepersad Naipaul, has created the tension prompting his life’s work and at the same time has brought him the conviction that alienation is not merely the lot of colonized people, but a fundamental aspect of all human existence.