Novelist Sir VS Naipaul passes away
He was 85.
Born in rural Trinidad in 1932, Naipaul was a Caribbean writer of Indo-Nepalese descent and Nobel Laureate who was born in Trinidad with British citizenship.
He published more than thirty books, both of fiction and nonfiction, over some fifty years.
His popular works included books like A Bend in the River and his masterpiece A House for Mr Biswas.
Celebrities, writers, politicians condole:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of the writer and tweeted: "Sir VS Naipaul will be remembered for his extensive works, which covered diverse subjects ranging from history, culture, colonialism, politics and more. His passing away is a major loss to the world of literature. Condolences to his family and well wishers in this sad hour."
Sir VS Naipaul will be remembered for his extensive works, which covered diverse subjects ranging from history, culture, colonialism, politics and more. His passing away is a major loss to the world of literature. Condolences to his family and well wishers in this sad hour.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 12, 2018
Writer Salman Rushdie tweeted: "We disagreed all our lives, about politics, about literature, and I feel as sad as if I just lost a beloved older brother. RIP Vidia. #VSNaipaul."
We disagreed all our lives, about politics, about literature, and I feel as sad as if I just lost a beloved older brother. RIP Vidia. #VSNaipaul
— Salman Rushdie (@SalmanRushdie) August 12, 2018
Writer Amitav Ghosh condoled as he posted: "RIP VS Naipaul. An old piece written when he won the Nobel."
RIP VS Naipaul. An old piece written when he won the Nobel: https://t.co/Mo8ZlX0Khi
— Amitav Ghosh (@GhoshAmitav) August 12, 2018
Sanjay Subrahmanyam's 'Where does he come from?' is well worth reading: https://t.co/IvC47iozs4
British novelist and journalist Hari Kunzru remarked: "I interviewed VS Naipaul for BBC TV. When we sat down, the first thing he said was ‘tell me what you’ve read and don’t lie.’ Only then would he consent to be questioned."
I made Naipaul cry. I knew he rarely signed books and probably wouldn’t want to put his name on some paperback so I found a 1st of Mr Biswas. He saw it and broke down. Everyone v alarmed. ‘I haven’t seen one of these for so long,’ he said, when he recovered himself
— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru) August 12, 2018
Hari said: "I made Naipaul cry. I knew he rarely signed books and probably wouldn’t want to put his name on some paperback so I found a 1st of Mr Biswas. He saw it and broke down. Everyone v alarmed. ‘I haven’t seen one of these for so long,’ he said, when he recovered himself. He did sign the book. We were in the room (now part of a hotel) where he had written radio scripts for the BBC when he first came to the UK."
He did sign the book. We were in the room (now part of a hotel) where he had written radio scripts for the BBC when he first came to the UK.
— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru) August 12, 2018
The producer was terrified of him. There was a list of taboo subjects. Islam, Theroux etc. I had to promise not to bring them up. As I remember he did end up talking about Islam
— Hari Kunzru (@harikunzru) August 12, 2018
"The producer was terrified of him. There was a list of taboo subjects. Islam, Theroux etc. I had to promise not to bring them up. As I remember he did end up talking about Islam," said the writer.
Image: Wikimedia Commons
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