V. S. Naipaul
(b. 1932)

Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul is a writer of fiction as well as nonfiction. His novels are about people in developing nations who are seeking an identity and trying to make sense of their lives. A House for Mr. Biswas (1961) won him major recognition. The novel deals with the clash of old Indian culture with modern Creole society in the West Indies. His nonfiction works, such as An Area of Darkness (1964) and India: A Wounded Civilization (1977), deal with Third World societies in conflict.

Naipaul is descended from Hindu Indians who had immigrated to Trinidad as indentured servants to work on the West Indian sugar plantations. Naipaul's father was a popular journalist with the Trinidad Guardian, a leading newspaper in Trinidad, for many years. His father's career and love of writing was a significant influence on Naipaul. In fact, the main character in A House for Mr. Biswas is modeled on his father.

Born in Caguanas, Trinidad, Naipaul attended school in the capital city of Port of Spain. He went to Oxford University in England in 1950 and then settled in London, working at a variety of jobs before gaining success as a writer. Naipaul won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001, for his body of work, which has served to raise the consciousness of readers about the histories and conflicts of many nations in the world.

A  |  B  |  C  |  D  |  E  |  F  |  G  |  H  |  I  |  J  |  K  |  L  |  M
N  |  O  |  P  |  Q  |  R  |  S  |  T  |  U  |  V  |  W  |  X  |  Y  |  Z