|
In association with
|
North of South: An African Journey (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)
by Shiva Naipaul
from Penguin Classics
Customer Reviews:
-
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0 
-
Too verbose and critical 
As an East African Asian, I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it quite as much.
The author is very cynical and sharply critical of almost EVERYTHING. It doesn't seem that he likes ANYTHING about East Africa.
Also, he often provides more details than are necessary on mundane things, like unexpected meetings with strange people.
Overall I would say that the author has done injustice to East Africa, and particularly the Asians of East Africa.
-
A Cynical and Sad African Travelogue 
~North of South: An African Journey~ is succinct and controversial travelogue by an Indian expatriate to the African continent. The author Naipaul presents a cynical, if not lampoonish travelogue of his odyssey through Africa in the 1970s: in particular, he visits Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. His book reflects upon the socialist ideologies advocated by the various regimes, and how in spite of their lofty ideological ideals, they only partake of corruption and misery. Central Africa is a region synonymous... more info
-
Naipaul's glance at post-Colonial Africa 
Shiva Naipaul's _North of South: An African Journey_ is the most cynical book I've ever read. It is a travelogue of the author's visit to three postcolonial African countries in the 1970s: Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia. Naipaul is a Hindu, born in Trinidad, and he pays attention to the role (and plight) of South Asians (Hindus, Pakistanis, Sikhs, Parsees, etc) in East Africa. He also focuses on the black-white relations in Africa as well. Naipaul gives Africa and everyone involved in its affairs (whites,... more info
-
Sadly neglected and misunderstood masterpiece
This is a wonderfully written book; Naipaul's proses flows effortlessly across the page, the connexion between thought and word is seemless. The comparatively small body of work Naipaul produced before his tragic early death has been neglected in favour of that of his less talented, but longer lived, brother (a Nobel Prizewinner). However in this one work, Naipaul's prosody surpasses anything produced either by his brother, or by other twentieth century travel writers like Thoreau. That said, some of the... more info
Similar Products:
| Portions © Amazon.com, Inc. |
|
