Naipaul's story of an Indian man, Salim, who lives in post-colonial Africa and observes turbulent changes in his country. The original phrase by Pliny the Elder meant that there is always something new out of Africa (ex Africa). Salim, a young Indian man, moves to a town on a bend in the river of a recently independent nation. [13], Imraan Coovadia examines Naipaul's Latin quotations, accuses him of misquotation and manipulation, and suggests that he tries to evoke fear, disgust and condescension. Bend in the River(1979), ‘Naipaul is ‘Free of any romantic moonshine about the moral claims of primitives or the glories of blood stained dictators and without a trace of western condescension or nostalgia for colonialism.” Bend in the River has been analysed to find the post-colonial themes in it. How would you respond if it was all suddenly taken away and you had to start over from scratch? ELEMENTS OF POSTCOLONIAL IN NOVEL. That said, my goal is to read A Bend in the River in dialogue with a body of postcolonial criticism concerned with the nature of postcolonial time and space, beginning with that of Chakrabarty, in order to demonstrate that Naipaul's novel effectively provincializes Europe. He has also been accused of being "infected by an ancestral communal resentment" against blacks. [5] Like others, Salim is forced to buy copies of the book for distribution. The country nor its president are ever mentioned but many commentators agree that it is in fact Zaire. They stopped being dry.”[10]. At the heart of his novel is an Indian shopkeeper given only the name of Salim who arrives in an unnamed town in Africa far from the west coast. Later Father Huismans explains him its meaning. Reminiscent of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, A Bend in the River chronicles both an internal journey and a physical trek into the heart of Africa as it explores the themes of personal exile and political and individual corruption. The novel is set in Zaire during the rule of Mobutu Sese Seka in the late 1960s and early 1970. A Bend in the River (1979) is Nobel laureate winner (2001) V. S. Naipaul’s now classic novel of Africa set following the end of British colonialism. A bend in the river. The novel … A Bend in the River is as fine an example of post-colonial literature as one is likely to find. First published in 1979, A Bend in the River is a profound and richly observed novel of the politics and society of postcolonial Africa. Life in the town is slowly improving. The story opens with our main character, Salim, opening up shop in an interior African country, where an African leader has just taken control. During the night there is a battle on the ship, as rebels try to kidnap it. Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad 2009 Heart Of Darkness, a novel in three parts (first published in 1902) written by Joseph Conrad centers around Marlow, a pensive English sailor who journeyed on an assignment from a Belgian trading company to the Congo River in Africa (Conrad, albeit, does not spell out the name of the river, the internal evidences point that out) as a ferry-boat captain. 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century, "Authority and Misquotation in V.S. Soon he is joined by an assistant, Metty, who comes from a family of house slaves his family had maintained in the east. By 應外3 鍾儀 FLAL Joy Chung An Unbreakable Colonial Cage in V.S. A Bend in the River (1979) is Nobel laureate winner (2001) V. S. Naipaul’s now classic novel of Africa set following the end of British colonialism. Naipaul - This is a memoir of a shopkeeper of Indian descent in a town with no name on a bend in the river in a fictional post-colonial country in central Africa. Naipaul. He has also been accused of being "infected by an ancestral communal resentment" against blacks. A Bend in the River. Africa. He bemoans the lack of security for honest businessmen: there is no safe place. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1979. Although he is in charge of the Domain, he finds himself outside the centre of power. Last updated by Aslan 7 years ago 3/29/2014 4:47 PM. Feeling insecure about his future in East Africa, he buys a business from Nazruddin in a town at "a bend in the river" in the heart of Africa. He is presented to the commissioner, Ferdinand, who has moved up in the administration after receiving training in the capital. 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