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The Enigma of Arrival
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The Enigma of Arrival Paperback - 1988

by V. S. Naipaul

Perhaps Naipaul's most autobiographical work, this is the story of a writer's singular journey from the British colony of Trinidad to the ancient countryside of England.

About this book

An autobiography for the most part, the book is composed of five sections reflecting the growing familiarity and changing perceptions of Naipaul upon his arrival in various countries. 

The majority of the action takes place in Wiltshire, England, where Naipaul has rented a cottage in the countryside. He sees the area around his cottage as a frozen piece of history, unchanged for hundreds of years. However, during his extended stay at this cottage where he is working on another novel, he notices the area for what it is: a forever changing place with ordinary people simply existing away from the rest of the world. This causes the author to reflect upon the nature of perceiving our surroundings and how much these perceptions are affected by our preconceptions.  

He reflects on his own emigration from Trinidad to New York City, and his following removal to England and Oxford. Naipaul’s novel illustrates the growing understanding of his place in this new environment and the complicated relations of the people and land around them. 

From the publisher

From the Nobel Prize-winning author comes his " finest work" (Chicago Tribune)--and most autobiographical--taking us from the British colony of Trinidad to the ancient countryside of England. - "An elegant memoir, a subtly incisive self-reckoning." --The Washington Post Book World

The story of a writer's singular journey--from one place to another, from Trinidad to England, and from one state of mind to another--this is perhaps Naipaul's most autobiographical work. Yet it is also woven through with remarkable invention to make it a rich and complex novel.

From the jacket flap

The autobiographical novel of a journey from the British colony of Trinidad to the ancient countryside of England.

First Edition Identification

The book was first published in 1987 by Viking Press, London, in hardcover format  with 318 pages. 

Published in 1987 by Alfred A. Knopf, New York. This edition has black cloth over green boards with titles in gilt to upper board and spine, 354 pages. 


Details

  • Title The Enigma of Arrival
  • Author V. S. Naipaul
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: Repri
  • Pages 368
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Vintage, New York
  • Date 1988-04-12
  • ISBN 9780394757605 / 0394757602
  • Weight 0.66 lbs (0.30 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.99 x 5.19 x 0.71 in (20.29 x 13.18 x 1.80 cm)
  • Themes
    • Cultural Region: British
  • Library of Congress subjects England - Fiction, City and town life - Fiction
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 87045937
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

"Naipaul's finest work so far." —Chicago Tribune

"An elegant memoir, a subtly incisive self-reckoning." —The Washington Post Book World

"Far and away the most curious novel I've read in a long time, and maybe the most hypnotic book I've ever read." —St. Petersburg Times

"The conclusion is both heart-breaking and bracing: the only antidote to destruction—of dreams, of reality—is remembering. As eloquently as anyone now writing, Naipaul remembers." —Time

"V.S. Naipaul is a man who can inspire readers to follow him through the Slough of Despond and beyond.... Like a computer game [this book] leads the reader on by a series of clues, nearer and nearer to an understanding of the man and the writer. Few memoirs can claim as much." —Newsday

Citations

  • New Yorker (The), 12/01/2008, Page 78

About the author

V.S. NAIPAUL was born in Trinidad in 1932. He came to England on a scholarship in 1950. He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. He pursued no other profession. His novels include A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival. In 1971 he was awarded the Booker Prize for In a Free State. His works of nonfiction, equally acclaimed, include Among the Believers, Beyond Belief, The Masque of Africa, and a trio of books about India: An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization and India: A Million Mutinies Now. In 1990, V.S. Naipaul received a knighthood for services to literature; in 1993, he was the first recipient of the David Cohen British Literature Prize. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He died in 2018.
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The Enigma of Arrival
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The Enigma of Arrival

by Naipaul, V. S

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