What do you think?
Rate this book
卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱
鬲賱鬲賯胤 毓賷賳 丕賱氐亘賷/ 丕賱乇丕賵賷 氐賵乇賸丕 賱賲噩賲賵毓丞 卮禺賵氐 鬲賯胤賳 (卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱) 賵賷賯氐 丕賱氐亘賷 毓賱賷賳丕 丨賰丕賷丞 賰賱 賲賳賴賲 亘丨賲丕爻 賲賳 賷賯丕爻賲 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 胤賲賵丨丕鬲賴丕 賵賷賳睾賲爻 丨鬲賶 兀匕賳賷賴 賮賷 丕賱禺賷亘丕鬲 丕賱賲鬲鬲丕賱賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賷賰丕亘丿賵賳賴丕 賵賷爻鬲爻賱賲 賲毓賴賲 賱兀丨賱丕賲 賰丕匕亘丞. 賵賷氐丨賵 賲毓賴賲 賱賷乇鬲胤賲 亘氐禺乇丞 丕賱賵丕賯毓. 賵賷賯丿賲 賱賳丕 乇丐賷丞 氐丕丿賯丞 丨賲賷賲丞 賱丨賷賵丕鬲 賴丐賱丕亍 丕賱兀卮禺丕氐 賵賷卮賷乇 賮賷 賳賴丕賷丞 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 廿賱賶 賵卮賱卅噩 丕賱氐賱丞 亘賷賳 賴匕賴 丕賱賴夭丕卅賲 賵亘賷賳 丕賱賲賳丕禺 丕賱孬賯丕賮賷 賮賷 鬲乇賷賳丿丕丿 廿亘丕賳 賴匕賴 丕賱賮鬲乇丞.
388 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1959
261 people are currently reading
5,127 people want to read
About the author
V.S. Naipaul
136听books1,723听followersV. S. Naipaul was a British writer of Indo-Trinidadian descent known for his sharp, often controversial explorations of postcolonial societies, identity, and displacement. His works, which include both fiction and nonfiction, often depict themes of exile, cultural alienation, and the lingering effects of colonialism.
He gained early recognition with A House for Mr Biswas, a novel inspired by his father鈥檚 struggles in Trinidad. His later works, such as The Mimic Men, In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, cemented his reputation as a masterful and incisive writer. Beyond fiction, his travelogues and essays, including Among the Believers and India: A Million Mutinies Now, reflected his critical perspective on societies in transition.
Naipaul received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for his ability to blend deep observation with literary artistry. While praised for his prose, his often unsparing portrayals of postcolonial nations and controversial statements sparked both admiration and criticism.
He gained early recognition with A House for Mr Biswas, a novel inspired by his father鈥檚 struggles in Trinidad. His later works, such as The Mimic Men, In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, cemented his reputation as a masterful and incisive writer. Beyond fiction, his travelogues and essays, including Among the Believers and India: A Million Mutinies Now, reflected his critical perspective on societies in transition.
Naipaul received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for his ability to blend deep observation with literary artistry. While praised for his prose, his often unsparing portrayals of postcolonial nations and controversial statements sparked both admiration and criticism.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
November 10, 2019
This book is not really a novel; it鈥檚 a collection of interrelated vignettes or short stories about a dozen or so men in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad during WW II. It鈥檚 a short book so each story is 5 to 7 pages or so. The author grew up nearby.
There is humor but these are not pretty stories. Just about all the men beat their wives and children. That is accepted and even expected. There is an exception: one large woman regularly beats her husband. When an ill woman dies, the neighbors blame it on her husband鈥檚 beatings, but nothing is done about it. 鈥淚s a good thing for a man to beat his woman every now and then, but this man does do it like exercise, man.鈥�
Women are hardly mentioned other than when they are getting beaten. Even the narrator鈥檚 own mother is only seen through remarks she makes about neighbors. (The boy鈥檚 father is dead.) The boy thinks of a neighbor woman: 鈥淕eorge鈥檚 wife was never a proper person. I always thought of her just as George鈥檚 wife, and that was all. And I always thought, too, that George鈥檚 wife was nearly always in the cow-pen.鈥� The men make fun of one woman who has eight children by seven men. One unmarried young woman commits suicide right after she has a baby.
Many of the men drink themselves into stupors with rum when they are not working. Many have been in jail, usually for theft. They sometimes beat one another up. The men are black or of mixed race; some are Hindus.
Much of the conversation is in dialect. It gets annoying at times, but I never felt that I could not understand what was being said in context. Some examples:
鈥淗a. I mad to break old George tail up, you hear.鈥�
[Said of a boy who wants to become a doctor:] 鈥淚 bet you when he become doctor and thing he go forget the rest of we. Eh, Elias?鈥�
鈥淎nyway, then we all want become friendly with him. But he don鈥檛 want we at all at all.鈥�
Most outsiders would call the neighborhood a slum. But the inhabitants are fine with it. They know of worse parts of town. They are poor but not starving. We see the men through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy (or so) and his good friend, an older man who categorizes each neighbor with a short descriptive phrase: 鈥淗e is a first-class drinking man.鈥�
So who are these men? We have a carpenter who really remodels stolen furniture. One is a trash scavenger, paid by the city, and he is proud of the cleanliness of his cart. There鈥檚 a man who makes fireworks and seems to be a pyromaniac. There鈥檚 a tailor, never seen making any clothes, who is arrested for bigamy. After one man鈥檚 wife dies, he turns his house into a brothel catering to American servicemen. 鈥楳ad Man鈥� spends his days writing words on the street in chalk. Eventually he ties himself to a cross and invites the neighborhood to stone him to death.
There鈥檚 a kind of chronology to the stories because the later ones talk about the impact of US serviceman on the locals. One young man becomes infatuated with the Americans and starts dating American women and trying to emulate their dress and even their accents. I did not know that the US had military bases in Trinidad during WW II (when the island was still a British colony). I looked it up and found a book about it: /book/show/5... and a summary of the book:
This was one of the author鈥檚 first of what was eventually about 30 books. Naipaul was such a good student that he earned a scholarship to Oxford. While there he started his journalism career working for the BBC. Wiki describes his working on the Miguel Street book: 鈥淪itting in the BBC freelancers' room in the old Langham Hotel, he wrote 鈥楤ogart,鈥� the first story of Miguel Street, which was inspired by a neighbor he knew as a child in Port of Spain. Naipaul wrote Miguel Street in five weeks. The New York Times said about the book: 鈥楾he sketches are written lightly, so that tragedy is understated and comedy is overstated, yet the ring of truth always prevails.鈥�
A good read but the subject matter can be upsetting.
Top photo of modern-day Port-of-Spain from loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net
Photo of Port-of-Spain during WW II from 1.bp.blogspot.com
The author from
There is humor but these are not pretty stories. Just about all the men beat their wives and children. That is accepted and even expected. There is an exception: one large woman regularly beats her husband. When an ill woman dies, the neighbors blame it on her husband鈥檚 beatings, but nothing is done about it. 鈥淚s a good thing for a man to beat his woman every now and then, but this man does do it like exercise, man.鈥�
Women are hardly mentioned other than when they are getting beaten. Even the narrator鈥檚 own mother is only seen through remarks she makes about neighbors. (The boy鈥檚 father is dead.) The boy thinks of a neighbor woman: 鈥淕eorge鈥檚 wife was never a proper person. I always thought of her just as George鈥檚 wife, and that was all. And I always thought, too, that George鈥檚 wife was nearly always in the cow-pen.鈥� The men make fun of one woman who has eight children by seven men. One unmarried young woman commits suicide right after she has a baby.
Many of the men drink themselves into stupors with rum when they are not working. Many have been in jail, usually for theft. They sometimes beat one another up. The men are black or of mixed race; some are Hindus.
Much of the conversation is in dialect. It gets annoying at times, but I never felt that I could not understand what was being said in context. Some examples:
鈥淗a. I mad to break old George tail up, you hear.鈥�
[Said of a boy who wants to become a doctor:] 鈥淚 bet you when he become doctor and thing he go forget the rest of we. Eh, Elias?鈥�
鈥淎nyway, then we all want become friendly with him. But he don鈥檛 want we at all at all.鈥�
Most outsiders would call the neighborhood a slum. But the inhabitants are fine with it. They know of worse parts of town. They are poor but not starving. We see the men through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy (or so) and his good friend, an older man who categorizes each neighbor with a short descriptive phrase: 鈥淗e is a first-class drinking man.鈥�
So who are these men? We have a carpenter who really remodels stolen furniture. One is a trash scavenger, paid by the city, and he is proud of the cleanliness of his cart. There鈥檚 a man who makes fireworks and seems to be a pyromaniac. There鈥檚 a tailor, never seen making any clothes, who is arrested for bigamy. After one man鈥檚 wife dies, he turns his house into a brothel catering to American servicemen. 鈥楳ad Man鈥� spends his days writing words on the street in chalk. Eventually he ties himself to a cross and invites the neighborhood to stone him to death.
There鈥檚 a kind of chronology to the stories because the later ones talk about the impact of US serviceman on the locals. One young man becomes infatuated with the Americans and starts dating American women and trying to emulate their dress and even their accents. I did not know that the US had military bases in Trinidad during WW II (when the island was still a British colony). I looked it up and found a book about it: /book/show/5... and a summary of the book:
This was one of the author鈥檚 first of what was eventually about 30 books. Naipaul was such a good student that he earned a scholarship to Oxford. While there he started his journalism career working for the BBC. Wiki describes his working on the Miguel Street book: 鈥淪itting in the BBC freelancers' room in the old Langham Hotel, he wrote 鈥楤ogart,鈥� the first story of Miguel Street, which was inspired by a neighbor he knew as a child in Port of Spain. Naipaul wrote Miguel Street in five weeks. The New York Times said about the book: 鈥楾he sketches are written lightly, so that tragedy is understated and comedy is overstated, yet the ring of truth always prevails.鈥�
A good read but the subject matter can be upsetting.
Top photo of modern-day Port-of-Spain from loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net
Photo of Port-of-Spain during WW II from 1.bp.blogspot.com
The author from
October 2, 2023
賵賯鬲蹖 丌丿賲 亘賴 趩蹖夭蹖 亘禺賳丿丿 讴賴 毓賲乇蹖 亘賴 禺丕胤乇卮 噩賳诏蹖丿賴貙 卮賲丕 賳賲蹖鈥屫з嗃屫� 亘丕蹖丿 亘賴 丨丕賱卮 禺賳丿蹖丿 蹖丕 诏乇蹖爻鬲. 氐賮丨賴 鄹鄞 讴鬲丕亘
夭賳丿诏蹖 趩蹖夭 丕賮鬲囟丕丨蹖 丕爻鬲. 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃� 丿乇丿爻乇 丕夭 乇丕賴 賲蹖鈥屫必池� 賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗃� 賴蹖趩 讴丕乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖 噩賱賵诏蹖乇蹖 丕夭 丌賳 亘讴賳蹖貙 賮賯胤 亘丕蹖丿 亘賳卮蹖賳蹖 賵 鬲賲丕卮丕 讴賳蹖 賵 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘讴卮蹖. 氐賮丨賴 郾郾鄱 讴鬲丕亘
鈥�
夭賳丿诏蹖 趩蹖夭 丕賮鬲囟丕丨蹖 丕爻鬲. 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃� 丿乇丿爻乇 丕夭 乇丕賴 賲蹖鈥屫必池� 賵 賳賲蹖鈥屫堌з嗃� 賴蹖趩 讴丕乇蹖 亘乇丕蹖 噩賱賵诏蹖乇蹖 丕夭 丌賳 亘讴賳蹖貙 賮賯胤 亘丕蹖丿 亘賳卮蹖賳蹖 賵 鬲賲丕卮丕 讴賳蹖 賵 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘讴卮蹖. 氐賮丨賴 郾郾鄱 讴鬲丕亘
鈥�
May 18, 2023
I read this in 1981 or thereabouts as part of my English Literature O-level exam. It's the only one of the books that we studied which I can remember the slightest thing about, so it must have had something going for it to still be in my head after 40 years.
I remembered it today as the BBC are reporting that only 0.7% of authors studied for the equivalent exam today are from an ethnic background. I guess our teacher back then was ahead of the curve. Sad to see that English schools (where 30% of the pupils are from ethnic backgrounds) appear to have gone backwards in this regard since then.
..
I remembered it today as the BBC are reporting that only 0.7% of authors studied for the equivalent exam today are from an ethnic background. I guess our teacher back then was ahead of the curve. Sad to see that English schools (where 30% of the pupils are from ethnic backgrounds) appear to have gone backwards in this regard since then.
..
January 18, 2025
Miguel Street, by V.S. Naipaul, captures the essence of life in Trinidad in the 1940s. The colorful cast of characters who inhabit Miguel Street (likely a euphemistic reference to Frederick Street), their often comedic interactions in various dramatic situations, paints a vivid portrait of life in a bustling thoroughfare of Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain. The narrative covers a broad spectrum of the human condition in Trinidad during this formative period, from marriage to infidelity, friendship and betrayal, as well as the politically charged topics of the time - British colonialism and the American military base on the island at Chaguaramas.
Being half-Trinidadian and having recently visited the island in my holiday travels, reading Miguel Street made me feel as if I was still there. The lively, dialect-filled exchanges between the characters is so quintessentially "Trini" that I often found myself chuckling in delight. Naipaul, is a master of character development and scene setting. Like a literary surgeon he knows how to entertain and enthrall readers while precisely dosing the level of detail.
I would highly recommend Miguel Street to anyone seeking to immerse themselves in Trinidadian and Caribbean literature. My only small reservation in making such a recommendation is that some aspects of the novel may be shocking/off-putting to some readers. There are repeated references to domestic violence which was more pervasive and socially acceptable at that time in history. If this could be a trigger for you then perhaps Miguel Street you should consider skipping this one! On a final note, although Naipaul employs dialect Trini in the narrative, sufficient context is given, which allows the story to be accessible to most readers.
Being half-Trinidadian and having recently visited the island in my holiday travels, reading Miguel Street made me feel as if I was still there. The lively, dialect-filled exchanges between the characters is so quintessentially "Trini" that I often found myself chuckling in delight. Naipaul, is a master of character development and scene setting. Like a literary surgeon he knows how to entertain and enthrall readers while precisely dosing the level of detail.
I would highly recommend Miguel Street to anyone seeking to immerse themselves in Trinidadian and Caribbean literature. My only small reservation in making such a recommendation is that some aspects of the novel may be shocking/off-putting to some readers. There are repeated references to domestic violence which was more pervasive and socially acceptable at that time in history. If this could be a trigger for you then perhaps Miguel Street you should consider skipping this one! On a final note, although Naipaul employs dialect Trini in the narrative, sufficient context is given, which allows the story to be accessible to most readers.
December 7, 2016
How beautiful this book is! How simple! How charming!
The Caribbean street filled with lowlifes, with dreamers, with quirky, street-smart or naive characters literally comes to life in Naipaul's beautiful, beautiful prose. It is a panoramic narration - we are introduced to people one by one, a chapter at a time, and by the time we are done reading, we have lived a different, distant life with them. What makes it compulsively readable is not some cheap excuse for a plot but a deep faith in characters. Naipaul said in an interview that any stranger is interesting for the first hour or so. I guess its true because you still haven't spent time enough to identify the usual cliches buried in all of us. And that trick works really well here - we never get bored by anyone coz there's always a nuttier or a weirder in the queue and its all over too soon. One day you stand near a lamppost and make jokes about passing people, and then later, when you are gone, your pals stand around the same post, recounting your legend.
Seemingly, these are separate short stories with a vague thread running through them and connecting them all - an observant eye, always recording, always curious. I loved the writing here. It is deceptively simple. There is no effort to make a point nor there is a display anywhere in the prose to draw attention to itself. There are parts which are poignant and parts that are laugh-out-loud funny. The local dialect is a wonder in itself and it blends well with the narrative, becoming an obvious part of it. And the restraint! I am sure that such control cannot come without total confidence in one's writing. To dwell too long over the fact that he was quite young when he wrote it is to invite worthlessness and self-doubt.
I think I have read the best book by an Indian writer so far. It was a pleasure to meet these characters. Their lives are not devoid of the shades of grey, they swing between joy and sorrow and I am happy to have read the kind of writing that did justice to them, that didn't impose any fabricated meaning on them, didn't try to trap them in any "ism", didn't try to tell us how to feel about them, but just presented them as they were. How that happens is a lesson in structuring and storytelling.
The Caribbean street filled with lowlifes, with dreamers, with quirky, street-smart or naive characters literally comes to life in Naipaul's beautiful, beautiful prose. It is a panoramic narration - we are introduced to people one by one, a chapter at a time, and by the time we are done reading, we have lived a different, distant life with them. What makes it compulsively readable is not some cheap excuse for a plot but a deep faith in characters. Naipaul said in an interview that any stranger is interesting for the first hour or so. I guess its true because you still haven't spent time enough to identify the usual cliches buried in all of us. And that trick works really well here - we never get bored by anyone coz there's always a nuttier or a weirder in the queue and its all over too soon. One day you stand near a lamppost and make jokes about passing people, and then later, when you are gone, your pals stand around the same post, recounting your legend.
Seemingly, these are separate short stories with a vague thread running through them and connecting them all - an observant eye, always recording, always curious. I loved the writing here. It is deceptively simple. There is no effort to make a point nor there is a display anywhere in the prose to draw attention to itself. There are parts which are poignant and parts that are laugh-out-loud funny. The local dialect is a wonder in itself and it blends well with the narrative, becoming an obvious part of it. And the restraint! I am sure that such control cannot come without total confidence in one's writing. To dwell too long over the fact that he was quite young when he wrote it is to invite worthlessness and self-doubt.
I think I have read the best book by an Indian writer so far. It was a pleasure to meet these characters. Their lives are not devoid of the shades of grey, they swing between joy and sorrow and I am happy to have read the kind of writing that did justice to them, that didn't impose any fabricated meaning on them, didn't try to trap them in any "ism", didn't try to tell us how to feel about them, but just presented them as they were. How that happens is a lesson in structuring and storytelling.
March 8, 2021
It's unique--and unique in Naipaul's work, of which I've read a dozen, my favorites including House for Mr Biswas, The Loss of El Dorado, and Among the Believers. Used to teach Miguel Street in community college Freshman English--maybe fifteen years, often twice a year. It never got old to me. My "teaching" was largely aloudreading, including my class who were fearful of the accent. Once in awhile a student had been to Trinidad, would try to recreate some. One or two got it better than I, who hadn't been there. I find it a comic achievement of the highest order, rather like (and unlike) Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Man-Man's dog is a wonderful creation, roughly equal to Shakespeare's Crab, the clown's dog in Two Gentlemen of Verona.
My wife came to my first class one semester, when I aloudread from "Man-man," who, barking like a dog from a barstool, was thrown out of a bar by the Portuguese bar owner. (Mainly read because two-thirds of my students were Portuguese, in Fall River.) I aloudread a bit, then barked like a dog. I went to the open classroom door-- students thought, to close it-- to step into the hall and bark louder. So other teachers would know what this Ph.D. did in his class. A student in the back of my classroom, sitting next to my wife, said, "Well, I guess I'm not gonna fall asleep in this class." In the story, Man-man goes back to the closed bar twice, once leaving all the doors open, but taking nothing, the next night, "little blobs of excrement were left on the top of every stool, and on top of every table, and at regular intervals along the counter"(40).
I wonder if a film of it is even possible, maybe by a Brazilian film-maker? The humor would be tough to represent visually. The brand-new truck "repaired" by the compulsive tinkerer--lovely. The un-named protagonist of Miguel Street wins the scholarship at Oxford. But on the way, he meets and describes a fascinating array of characters, the central one being the ironist and "older brother" type, Hat. Then, the teacher of Latin, Titus Hoyt. And the poet who has written nothing. How about the crazed Man-Man who has trained his dog to defecate. And the aforesaid tinkerer-mechanic who destroys new cars and trucks, his chapter titled, "The Mechanical Genius." There's the fireworks afficianado whose obsession blows up his house, in the "Pyrotechnicist," which begins with the central point of the book: "A stranger could drive down Miguel Street and just say 'Slum!' because he could see no more. But we, who lived there, saw our street as a world, where everone was quite different from everybody else." (63, Vintage 1984)
I would use the book as the first of five in my course, others including a Shakespeare play, a poetry collection, and a memoir or non-fiction. It really got the class off to a great start. Of course, Naipaul grew into a bit of a zero--dissing women authors, whoring, etc. But if we can forgive politicians, why not geniuses? (less)
0 minutes ago 路 delete
My wife came to my first class one semester, when I aloudread from "Man-man," who, barking like a dog from a barstool, was thrown out of a bar by the Portuguese bar owner. (Mainly read because two-thirds of my students were Portuguese, in Fall River.) I aloudread a bit, then barked like a dog. I went to the open classroom door-- students thought, to close it-- to step into the hall and bark louder. So other teachers would know what this Ph.D. did in his class. A student in the back of my classroom, sitting next to my wife, said, "Well, I guess I'm not gonna fall asleep in this class." In the story, Man-man goes back to the closed bar twice, once leaving all the doors open, but taking nothing, the next night, "little blobs of excrement were left on the top of every stool, and on top of every table, and at regular intervals along the counter"(40).
I wonder if a film of it is even possible, maybe by a Brazilian film-maker? The humor would be tough to represent visually. The brand-new truck "repaired" by the compulsive tinkerer--lovely. The un-named protagonist of Miguel Street wins the scholarship at Oxford. But on the way, he meets and describes a fascinating array of characters, the central one being the ironist and "older brother" type, Hat. Then, the teacher of Latin, Titus Hoyt. And the poet who has written nothing. How about the crazed Man-Man who has trained his dog to defecate. And the aforesaid tinkerer-mechanic who destroys new cars and trucks, his chapter titled, "The Mechanical Genius." There's the fireworks afficianado whose obsession blows up his house, in the "Pyrotechnicist," which begins with the central point of the book: "A stranger could drive down Miguel Street and just say 'Slum!' because he could see no more. But we, who lived there, saw our street as a world, where everone was quite different from everybody else." (63, Vintage 1984)
I would use the book as the first of five in my course, others including a Shakespeare play, a poetry collection, and a memoir or non-fiction. It really got the class off to a great start. Of course, Naipaul grew into a bit of a zero--dissing women authors, whoring, etc. But if we can forgive politicians, why not geniuses? (less)
0 minutes ago 路 delete
January 28, 2019
A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say 鈥淪lum!鈥� because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Man-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; Hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.
You want a book that is earnest and enjoyable with the pace being right quick, quick? - well you came to right place. This be a collection of vignettes through the eyes of a short pants playing at being a man. It's a collection of characters, but it also be a description of a place and time - it paint a picture real good good.
My apologies, I know I just butchered the Trinidad dialect, probably making it sound dumb and clunky, but honestly to my mind that is how it read at first. Like most books that are written in dialect though, with time you catch the rhythm, beat, and patterns, and soon you will find yourself engrossed, not just comprehending the words but hearing the earnest voices. This is the type of writing that transports the reader, using language to introduce unfamiliar culture that can be accomplished in really no other way. This book begs you to get to know the people, while not judging them; to become friendly, but never to fall in love.
This book does some amazing work in a short period. It is a shallow dive, but an enjoyable one. I think before the end you not only see the street our narrator grew up on, but you can also imagine how the appearance changed for our narrator as he aged. The writing and the characters are nothing if not colorful and vivid, but they are also brief and thus somewhat static. I can not help but think that there is also something of a staleness about the entire neighborhood by the end, a loss of hope for most of the inhabitants and yet most of the book is filled with lively activity, even if it isn't always pleasant.
September 8, 2023
丕诏乇 丌丿賲 睾乇蹖亘賴鈥屫й� 丕夭 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 賲蹖鈥屭柏簇� 賲蹖鈥屭佖�: 趩賴 禺乇丕亘賴鈥屫й�! 趩賵賳 趩賳丿丕賳 趩蹖夭蹖 丿乇 丌賳 賳賲蹖鈥屫屫�. 丕賲丕 賲丕 讴賴 丌賳噩丕 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┴必屬� 禺蹖丕亘丕賳賲丕賳 乇丕 丿賳蹖丕蹖蹖 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀池屬� 讴賴 丿乇 丌賳 賴乇讴爻 亘丕 丿蹖诏乇蹖 賮乇賯鈥屬囏й� 夭蹖丕丿蹖 丿丕卮鬲. 賲賻賳-賲賻賳 丿蹖賵丕賳賴 亘賵丿貙 噩乇噩 丕丨賲賯 亘賵丿貙 亘蹖诏鈥屬佡堌� 賯賱丿乇 亘賵丿貙 賴鬲 賲丕噩乇丕噩賵 亘賵丿貙 倬賵倬乇 賮蹖賱爻賵賮 亘賵丿貙 賵 賲賵乇诏賳 賴賲 賱賵丿踿 賲丕.
讴鬲丕亘 丕夭 賲噩賲賵毓賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 亘賴 賴賲 倬蹖賵爻鬲賴鈥屫й� 鬲卮讴蹖賱 卮丿賴 讴賴 丕夭 夭亘丕賳 乇丕賵蹖 賳賵噩賵丕賳蹖 亘蹖丕賳 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 賵 亘賴 卮乇丨 夭賳丿诏蹖 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й屰� 賲蹖 倬乇丿丕夭丿 讴賴 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 卮賴乇 倬乇鬲 丌賵 丕爻倬蹖賳 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 乇丕賵蹖 賴賲趩賳丕賳 讴賴 亘賴 鬲丿乇蹖噩 亘夭乇诏 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 丕氐賱蹖 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 乇丕 賲毓乇賮蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 亘賴 賴蹖趩 趩蹖夭 噩夭 禺賵丿 卮亘丕賴鬲 賳丿丕乇賳丿 賵 乇賵丕賱 乇賵夭賲乇踿 夭賳丿诏蹖 丌賳鈥屬囏ж� 趩蹖夭蹖 噩夭 鬲讴乇丕乇 毓丕丿丕鬲 賴賲蹖卮诏蹖 卮丕賳 賳蹖爻鬲. 亘丕 賴賲賴鈥屰� 丌賲丿 賵 卮丿賴丕蹖蹖 讴賴 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 卮丕賴丿 丌賳 賴爻鬲蹖賲貙 夭賳丿诏蹖 賴賲趩賳丕賳 丿乇 丕蹖賳 噩賲毓 睾乇蹖亘 賵 丕賲丕 賳夭丿蹖讴 丌丿賲鈥屬囏� 丕丿丕賲賴 丿丕乇丿貙 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賴 賴乇蹖讴 爻乇诏匕卮鬲 丕賳丿賵賴亘丕乇蹖 丿丕乇賳丿 賵 賳賯胤賴 丕鬲氐丕賱 賴賲诏蹖 丌賳鈥屬囏� 亘賴 賴賲貙 亘賵丿賳 賵 夭蹖爻鬲賳 丿乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丕爻鬲. 賴賳乇 賳丕蹖倬賱 丿乇 丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 丕蹖賳 丕爻鬲 讴賴 亘丕 丌賳 賴賲 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 禺賳丿蹖丿 賵 賴賲 诏乇蹖爻鬲. 賱丨賳 氐丕丿賯丕賳賴 賵 賲賱賲賵爻 乇丕賵蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 賴賲趩賵賳 丕賮爻賵賳蹖 賲禺丕胤亘 乇丕 亘賴 丿乇賵賳 禺賵丿 賮乇賵 賲蹖 讴卮丿 賵 睾乇賯 丿乇 爻乇诏匕卮鬲 卮禺氐蹖鬲鈥屬囏й� 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�. 4.5 賳賲乇賴 賲賳 亘賴 丕蹖賳 丕孬乇 丿賵爻鬲 丿丕卮鬲賳蹖 賵 禺賵丕賳丿賳蹖 丕爻鬲.
October 3, 2020
This was a really enjoyable read.
It is not really a novel, more a series of interconnected vignettes, each a small character study of a person or event in the neighbourhood of Miguel Street - in a poor area of Port of Spain in Trinidad. The book is written in some nice subtle use of vernacular - almost patois, not at all challenging or distracting, but for me it really added to the great descriptive writing.
"I know something wrong. Something happen to he."
"You sure this baby for you, and not nobody else? It have some woman making a living this way, you know."
"You better mind you mouth. Otherwise I come up and turn your face with one slap, you hear."
"She look like a drinker sheself."
Each chapter brings a new depth to the neighbourhood, building on previous characters and events, but written in such a way that the chapter stands alone too. Very clever.
I understand from other reviews that although this was Naipaul third novel published, it was written first. If that is the case it is a great example of a excellent first work. Perhaps even more special given its slightly experimental writing technique.
I have read one other Naipaul fiction (Guerillas), and one of his nonfiction, but for me this is better than either.
Somewhere between four and five stars - probably settling at 4.
Recommended reading.
It is not really a novel, more a series of interconnected vignettes, each a small character study of a person or event in the neighbourhood of Miguel Street - in a poor area of Port of Spain in Trinidad. The book is written in some nice subtle use of vernacular - almost patois, not at all challenging or distracting, but for me it really added to the great descriptive writing.
"I know something wrong. Something happen to he."
"You sure this baby for you, and not nobody else? It have some woman making a living this way, you know."
"You better mind you mouth. Otherwise I come up and turn your face with one slap, you hear."
"She look like a drinker sheself."
Each chapter brings a new depth to the neighbourhood, building on previous characters and events, but written in such a way that the chapter stands alone too. Very clever.
I understand from other reviews that although this was Naipaul third novel published, it was written first. If that is the case it is a great example of a excellent first work. Perhaps even more special given its slightly experimental writing technique.
I have read one other Naipaul fiction (Guerillas), and one of his nonfiction, but for me this is better than either.
Somewhere between four and five stars - probably settling at 4.
Recommended reading.
September 17, 2014
賴賶 乇賵丕賷丞 賱賰丕鬲亘 賳賵亘賱 2001 , 賲賳 鬲乇賷賳丿丕丿 . 賵亘氐乇丕丨丞 丿賶 丕賵賱 賲乇丞 兀賯丕亘賱 丕賱兀丿亘 (丕賱鬲乇賷賳丿丕丿賷 ) 賵賰丕賳鬲 賲賯丕亘賱丞 賲賲鬲毓丞 .
卮卅 亘丿賷毓 , 賮毓賱丕 , 丨丕噩丞 賰丿丕 亘鬲睾賷賾乇 賱賰 丕賱賲夭丕噩 丕賱卮禺氐賶 賱賱兀賮囟賱 .
匕賰乇賷丕鬲 噩賲賷賱丞 爻乇丿賴丕 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 亘胤乇賷賯 賲賲賷夭丞 鬲噩亘乇賰 毓賱賶 兀賳賰 鬲丨亘 丕賱毓賲賱 賵鬲丨亘 兀爻賱賵亘賴.
賰鬲丕亘 毓亘丕乇丞 毓賳 匕賰乇賷丕鬲 胤賮賱 , 丨丕噩丞 賰丿丕 賯丿乇 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 兀賳賴 賷噩匕亘賰 賱毓丕賱賲賴 賲賳 禺賱丕賱賴丕 .
卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 : 賴賵 卮丕乇毓 賮賶 賰賱 賵胤賳 , 賴賵 丕賱卮丕乇毓 丕賱匕賶 鬲爻賰賳 兀賳鬲 賮賷賴 , 亘噩賷乇丕賳賰 賵賲毓丕乇賮賰 賵賲丕 鬲乇亘胤賰 亘賴賲 賲賳 匕賰乇賷丕鬲 賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賲丐賱賲丞 賮賶 賵賯鬲賴丕 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 鬲賳賰乇 兀孬乇 丕賱爻毓丕丿丞 丕賱鬲賶 鬲毓鬲乇賷賰 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲鬲匕賰乇賴丕 .
乇睾賲 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賮賱睾丞 丕賱毓賲賱 賲賲賷夭丞 鬲丿賱 毓賱賶 毓馗賲鬲賴丕 賮賶 賱睾鬲賴丕 丕賱丕賲.
卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 爻丕丨乇丞 , 賰丕丿鬲 兀賳 鬲亘賱睾 丕賱賰賲丕賱 賲賳 賮乇胤 乇賵毓鬲賴丕 賵噩賲丕賱賴丕 , 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丨賷賾丞 賲賳 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇 . 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 亘鬲賮丕氐賷賱 爻鬲賵賯賳 賲賳 兀賳賰 爻亘賯 賵賯丕亘賱鬲賴丕 .
丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲亘賴噩丞 賵賲丐賱賲丞 賮賶 亘毓囟 丕賱兀丨賷丕賳 .
丕賱毓賲賱 賮賶 丕賱賲噩賲賱 賷賳鬲賲賶 賱匕賱賰 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱毓丕亘乇 賱賱孬賯丕賮丕鬲 賵丕賱賲卮鬲乇賰 亘賷賳 賰賱 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓丕鬲
賯賶 丕賱賲噩賲賱 毓賲賱 賲賲鬲丕夭.
賲賱丨賵馗丞 : 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 氐丿乇鬲 毓賳 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 鬲亘毓 爻賱爻賱丞 丕賱噩賵丕卅夭 , 丕賱丕氐丿丕乇 乇賯賲 18 .
卮卅 亘丿賷毓 , 賮毓賱丕 , 丨丕噩丞 賰丿丕 亘鬲睾賷賾乇 賱賰 丕賱賲夭丕噩 丕賱卮禺氐賶 賱賱兀賮囟賱 .
匕賰乇賷丕鬲 噩賲賷賱丞 爻乇丿賴丕 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 亘胤乇賷賯 賲賲賷夭丞 鬲噩亘乇賰 毓賱賶 兀賳賰 鬲丨亘 丕賱毓賲賱 賵鬲丨亘 兀爻賱賵亘賴.
賰鬲丕亘 毓亘丕乇丞 毓賳 匕賰乇賷丕鬲 胤賮賱 , 丨丕噩丞 賰丿丕 賯丿乇 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 兀賳賴 賷噩匕亘賰 賱毓丕賱賲賴 賲賳 禺賱丕賱賴丕 .
卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 : 賴賵 卮丕乇毓 賮賶 賰賱 賵胤賳 , 賴賵 丕賱卮丕乇毓 丕賱匕賶 鬲爻賰賳 兀賳鬲 賮賷賴 , 亘噩賷乇丕賳賰 賵賲毓丕乇賮賰 賵賲丕 鬲乇亘胤賰 亘賴賲 賲賳 匕賰乇賷丕鬲 賯丿 鬲賰賵賳 賲丐賱賲丞 賮賶 賵賯鬲賴丕 賵賱賰賳 賱丕 鬲賳賰乇 兀孬乇 丕賱爻毓丕丿丞 丕賱鬲賶 鬲毓鬲乇賷賰 毓賳丿賲丕 鬲鬲匕賰乇賴丕 .
乇睾賲 丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賮賱睾丞 丕賱毓賲賱 賲賲賷夭丞 鬲丿賱 毓賱賶 毓馗賲鬲賴丕 賮賶 賱睾鬲賴丕 丕賱丕賲.
卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 爻丕丨乇丞 , 賰丕丿鬲 兀賳 鬲亘賱睾 丕賱賰賲丕賱 賲賳 賮乇胤 乇賵毓鬲賴丕 賵噩賲丕賱賴丕 , 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 丨賷賾丞 賲賳 亘賷賳 丕賱爻胤賵乇 . 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 亘鬲賮丕氐賷賱 爻鬲賵賯賳 賲賳 兀賳賰 爻亘賯 賵賯丕亘賱鬲賴丕 .
丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賲亘賴噩丞 賵賲丐賱賲丞 賮賶 亘毓囟 丕賱兀丨賷丕賳 .
丕賱毓賲賱 賮賶 丕賱賲噩賲賱 賷賳鬲賲賶 賱匕賱賰 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱毓丕亘乇 賱賱孬賯丕賮丕鬲 賵丕賱賲卮鬲乇賰 亘賷賳 賰賱 丕賱賲噩鬲賲毓丕鬲
賯賶 丕賱賲噩賲賱 毓賲賱 賲賲鬲丕夭.
賲賱丨賵馗丞 : 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 氐丿乇鬲 毓賳 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 鬲亘毓 爻賱爻賱丞 丕賱噩賵丕卅夭 , 丕賱丕氐丿丕乇 乇賯賲 18 .
July 11, 2022
I have read Naipaul鈥檚 books drenched with fetching travel accounts, especially his African tales. This was my third fiction from the author. Though by the time I am posting my thoughts on this book, I have already read a few more novels and non-fiction by the author. I guess I am getting intimate here. But when I was starting on this book, I was under the impression that it will be yet another sort of travelogue-type book, but it turned out to be a fictitious short story collection. I am using the word travelogue 鈥搕ype, because I don鈥檛 know why, every time I read about the brief of his new book, it gives a sort of 鈥榩redisposed globe-trotting feel鈥� in my mind. This is an inhabited thing since a young age.
But when I ended the book I even fancied I was perhaps reading a novel. The book had been written in a very distinct style. All the stories are though distinct, but in the end, we find that these stories were interconnected. There is a recognizable pattern of relatedness. A common narrator tells the stories of multiple characters in each chapter. All characters are very interesting. If you will read the introduction of each of these characters, there are high chances you will chuckle sometimes and their portrayal in the author鈥檚 style is enough to get you to bust a gut. They are laughable. Some of them are as cool as a cucumber.
These characters are flawed and they all live on the same street. 'Bogart' is a unique character you will find in the beginning. 'Popo', the carpenter is another interesting one. 'George' is short and fat and keeps muttering to himself. George briefly runs a brothel of sorts. There was a man called 'Man-man', everybody said he was mad. He had some curious habits. He participated in the election every time and always got 3 votes, one was his own but who were the other two? That question remained for a long. A character named 'Big Foot' was like those dogs, which never bark but look at you through the corner of their eyes. He was big and always silent, his silence scared the people. There is one uncle, 'Uncle Bhakcu', who is considered educated. But he is educated not in the book, but in something else. He is called a 'mechanical genius'.
Men in Miguel Street are considered with high repute if they are adventures. To show their manliness some men take the route of adventure and entertainment to the reader follows. There are a few interesting women characters too in Miguel street, they bring life to the community there. Laura and Miss Hilton are the prominent ones. If I go to the timeline, this was only the third book of Naipaul and written two years later than his first book 鈥榓 mystic masseur'. If I compare it with his first book, the language and both comic sense get better here.
This is a very unique book and I liked the way it has been written. These characters and the comic sense have made this book such an entertaining read, but it also shows the community values and beliefs in the street. I will call this book a 'slapstick humor'. If you are a short story lover, you must try it. I will highly recommend this book to those who have yet not read any fiction by the author, I will say, go with this book first. In my opinion, this is a very charming book with endearing prose.
鈥淟ook, boys, it ever strike you that the world not real at all? It ever strike you that we have the only mind in the world and you just thinking up everything else? Like me here, having the only mind in the world, and thinking up you people here, thinking up the war and all the houses and the ships and them in the harbour. That ever cross your mind?鈥�
But when I ended the book I even fancied I was perhaps reading a novel. The book had been written in a very distinct style. All the stories are though distinct, but in the end, we find that these stories were interconnected. There is a recognizable pattern of relatedness. A common narrator tells the stories of multiple characters in each chapter. All characters are very interesting. If you will read the introduction of each of these characters, there are high chances you will chuckle sometimes and their portrayal in the author鈥檚 style is enough to get you to bust a gut. They are laughable. Some of them are as cool as a cucumber.
These characters are flawed and they all live on the same street. 'Bogart' is a unique character you will find in the beginning. 'Popo', the carpenter is another interesting one. 'George' is short and fat and keeps muttering to himself. George briefly runs a brothel of sorts. There was a man called 'Man-man', everybody said he was mad. He had some curious habits. He participated in the election every time and always got 3 votes, one was his own but who were the other two? That question remained for a long. A character named 'Big Foot' was like those dogs, which never bark but look at you through the corner of their eyes. He was big and always silent, his silence scared the people. There is one uncle, 'Uncle Bhakcu', who is considered educated. But he is educated not in the book, but in something else. He is called a 'mechanical genius'.
Men in Miguel Street are considered with high repute if they are adventures. To show their manliness some men take the route of adventure and entertainment to the reader follows. There are a few interesting women characters too in Miguel street, they bring life to the community there. Laura and Miss Hilton are the prominent ones. If I go to the timeline, this was only the third book of Naipaul and written two years later than his first book 鈥榓 mystic masseur'. If I compare it with his first book, the language and both comic sense get better here.
This is a very unique book and I liked the way it has been written. These characters and the comic sense have made this book such an entertaining read, but it also shows the community values and beliefs in the street. I will call this book a 'slapstick humor'. If you are a short story lover, you must try it. I will highly recommend this book to those who have yet not read any fiction by the author, I will say, go with this book first. In my opinion, this is a very charming book with endearing prose.
September 27, 2022
賮賶 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 賮賶 丿賵賱丞 鬲乇賷賳賷丿丕丿 廿亘丕賳 丕賱丨乇亘 丕賱毓丕賱賲賷丞 丕賱孬丕賳賷丞貙 賷丨賰賶 丕賱乇賵丕卅賶 賳丕賷亘賵賱 毓賳 賲丕 丕爻鬲胤丕毓 乇丐賷鬲賴 賵賮賴賲賴 賲賳 丕丨丕丿賷孬賴 賵賲睾丕賲乇丕鬲賴 賲毓 爻賰丕賳 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱貙 卮丕乇毓 賮賯賷乇 賮賶 丿賵賱丞 賮賯賷乇丞貙 賵兀賳丕爻 毓丕丿賷賵賳 賷毓賷卮賵賳 賴匕賴 丕賱丨賷丕丞 亘鬲賯丕賱賷丿賴賲 賵兀氐賵賱賴賲 丕賱賴賳丿賷丞 丕賱賶 噩丕賳亘 卮睾賮 亘毓囟賴賲 亘丕賱乇噩賱 丕賱兀亘賷囟 丕賱丕賳噩賱賷夭賶 賵丕賱兀賲乇賷賰賶.
丨賰丕賷丕鬲 毓賳 賯丕胤賳賶 賴匕丕 丕賱卮丕乇毓 丕賱賲賱賷卅 亘丕賱匕賰乇賷丕鬲 賵丕賱丕丨丿丕孬貙 賰賱 賱賴 賯氐鬲賴 賵兀丨賱丕賲賴 丕賱鬲賶 賲丕 鬲賱亘孬 兀賳 鬲賳賴丕乇 .
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓丕丿賷丞 賵廿賳 賰丕賳鬲 賲賰鬲賵亘丞 亘賱睾丞 爻賴賱丞 賵丨賲賷賲賷丞 爻鬲毓賷卮 賲毓 兀亘胤丕賱賴丕 亘賲卮丕賰賱賴賲 賵禺賱丕賮丕鬲賴賲 丕賱夭賵噩賷丞 亘胤賲賵丨賴賲 賵賮禺乇賴賲 毓賱賶 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟 亘兀卮賷丕亍 賱丕 賲噩丕賱 賱賱賮丨乇 亘賴丕貙 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 賳丕賷亘賵賱 丕賱匕賶 賰丕賳 胤賮賱丕 丌賳匕丕賰 孬賲 爻賮乇賴 毓賳丿 亘賱賵睾賴 丕賱孬丕賲賳丞 毓卮乇 丕賱賶 亘乇賷胤丕賳賷丕 賵丕囟毓丕 亘賴匕丕 丨丿丕 賱鬲丨賵賱 鬲乇賷賳賷丿丕丿 丕賱孬賯丕賮賶 賵丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賶 賯亘賱 丕賱丨乇亘 賵亘毓丿賴丕.
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 亘丿賷毓丞 賵丕爻鬲禺丿賲鬲 丕賱賮丕馗 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 丕賱睾賳賷丞 賱禺丿賲丞 丕賱賳氐 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲.
丨賰丕賷丕鬲 毓賳 賯丕胤賳賶 賴匕丕 丕賱卮丕乇毓 丕賱賲賱賷卅 亘丕賱匕賰乇賷丕鬲 賵丕賱丕丨丿丕孬貙 賰賱 賱賴 賯氐鬲賴 賵兀丨賱丕賲賴 丕賱鬲賶 賲丕 鬲賱亘孬 兀賳 鬲賳賴丕乇 .
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓丕丿賷丞 賵廿賳 賰丕賳鬲 賲賰鬲賵亘丞 亘賱睾丞 爻賴賱丞 賵丨賲賷賲賷丞 爻鬲毓賷卮 賲毓 兀亘胤丕賱賴丕 亘賲卮丕賰賱賴賲 賵禺賱丕賮丕鬲賴賲 丕賱夭賵噩賷丞 亘胤賲賵丨賴賲 賵賮禺乇賴賲 毓賱賶 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟 亘兀卮賷丕亍 賱丕 賲噩丕賱 賱賱賮丨乇 亘賴丕貙 賲賳 賵噩賴丞 賳馗乇 賳丕賷亘賵賱 丕賱匕賶 賰丕賳 胤賮賱丕 丌賳匕丕賰 孬賲 爻賮乇賴 毓賳丿 亘賱賵睾賴 丕賱孬丕賲賳丞 毓卮乇 丕賱賶 亘乇賷胤丕賳賷丕 賵丕囟毓丕 亘賴匕丕 丨丿丕 賱鬲丨賵賱 鬲乇賷賳賷丿丕丿 丕賱孬賯丕賮賶 賵丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賶 賯亘賱 丕賱丨乇亘 賵亘毓丿賴丕.
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 亘丿賷毓丞 賵丕爻鬲禺丿賲鬲 丕賱賮丕馗 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞 丕賱睾賳賷丞 賱禺丿賲丞 丕賱賳氐 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲.
March 9, 2021
Naipaul's third novel about a bunch of colorful characters living in a street in Port of Spain. This is unlike any other Naipaul I have read so far. I have read his work backwards starting with his later novels and then moving on to the earlier ones (a small write up by Tarun Tejpal inside the book recommends Miguel Street and The Mystic Masseur for first time readers of Naipaul). Miguel Street is not without its share of misery and darkness but it is mostly a hilarious novel tracing the antics of the Indian and West Indian characters who are in each others lives all the time.
Despite the easy air with which the Indian narrator tells the stories of the people in the street, Naipaul lets slip a bit of the misanthropy that would characterize some of his later work, in the second chapter itself - when the Indian narrator complains about a woman in the street who stares at him while he eats. The characters are boisterous, some of them reminded me of Willie Chandran (from Half a Life and Magic Seeds, jumping from one accident to another).
I took a while to get into the book. I didn't really get the humor in the beginning. But I am glad I stuck with it. It does get really hilarious in the middle and the ending is tinged with nostalgia and sadness as the narrator matures and grows out of the people in the street.
Despite the easy air with which the Indian narrator tells the stories of the people in the street, Naipaul lets slip a bit of the misanthropy that would characterize some of his later work, in the second chapter itself - when the Indian narrator complains about a woman in the street who stares at him while he eats. The characters are boisterous, some of them reminded me of Willie Chandran (from Half a Life and Magic Seeds, jumping from one accident to another).
I took a while to get into the book. I didn't really get the humor in the beginning. But I am glad I stuck with it. It does get really hilarious in the middle and the ending is tinged with nostalgia and sadness as the narrator matures and grows out of the people in the street.
October 14, 2020
Audio - 5 + Stars
Story - 4.25 Stars
Story - 4.25 Stars
April 1, 2013
Let no one fool you into thinking that just because this book is set in the beautiful island of Trinidad, that somehow it will pander to the stereotype of the Caribbean as being an idyllic eco-paradise filled with mirth and tranquillity. In fact, VS Naipaul's utterly bleak and ultra-realistic depiction of war-time pre-independence Trinidad could be summed up as hilariously misanthropic at worst and desperately hopeless at best.
I first read this book when I was around seventeen, back when I was temporarily attending school in the Caribbean. It was a book we had to study for our final exams, and oddly enough it has occasionally played on my mind, even six years after initially reading it. The characters in Naipaul's (possibly) semi-autobiographical tale do seem very real, in an albeit pitiful manner. Naipaul perfectly captures the dialogue, the rhythm and atmosphere of Caribbean life and adds his own blend of nihilism. All of the characters fail in their ambitions or just don't have the willpower or brains to drag themselves out of the Trinidadian slums. Naipaul repeatedly reminds us of how fickle, pathetic and at times tragic, the lives of the inhabitants of Miguel Street are. Everyone falls victim to hubris or their own stupidity. The author's nihilism has no time for sympathy.
Whilst one could easily construe this as an assault on the common sense and dignity of Trinidad's poorer communities, perhaps the biggest reason the book had such an effect on me as a teenager was because it so accurately portrayed characters who did seem to have parallels with many of the individuals living in the Caribbean's poor communities. Not necessarily to the same extent as Naipaul's rigid misanthropism, but the depictions of the occasional bleakness and 'stuck in a rut' feeling that pervades many living in the slums of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad are undeniably well written. Miguel Street's main strength is that it is able to present this nihilist tale and tell it so very well. You never lose interest and even with every subsequent character falling short of their elusive glories, you still can't help but turn the page.
Naipaul is a very polarising writer for many. He's either lauded as a masterful author who specialises in realist stories that pull no punches, or condemned as a neo-colonialism hack who only writes stories which 'prove' that those living in post-colonial India, Africa or the Caribbean had it much better under British rule. Maybe it is a little from 'column A' and a little from 'column B'. Whatever the viewpoint, there is no denying that Miguel Street is an amazing book and earns Naipaul the right to consider himself one of the best modern writers.
I first read this book when I was around seventeen, back when I was temporarily attending school in the Caribbean. It was a book we had to study for our final exams, and oddly enough it has occasionally played on my mind, even six years after initially reading it. The characters in Naipaul's (possibly) semi-autobiographical tale do seem very real, in an albeit pitiful manner. Naipaul perfectly captures the dialogue, the rhythm and atmosphere of Caribbean life and adds his own blend of nihilism. All of the characters fail in their ambitions or just don't have the willpower or brains to drag themselves out of the Trinidadian slums. Naipaul repeatedly reminds us of how fickle, pathetic and at times tragic, the lives of the inhabitants of Miguel Street are. Everyone falls victim to hubris or their own stupidity. The author's nihilism has no time for sympathy.
Whilst one could easily construe this as an assault on the common sense and dignity of Trinidad's poorer communities, perhaps the biggest reason the book had such an effect on me as a teenager was because it so accurately portrayed characters who did seem to have parallels with many of the individuals living in the Caribbean's poor communities. Not necessarily to the same extent as Naipaul's rigid misanthropism, but the depictions of the occasional bleakness and 'stuck in a rut' feeling that pervades many living in the slums of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad are undeniably well written. Miguel Street's main strength is that it is able to present this nihilist tale and tell it so very well. You never lose interest and even with every subsequent character falling short of their elusive glories, you still can't help but turn the page.
Naipaul is a very polarising writer for many. He's either lauded as a masterful author who specialises in realist stories that pull no punches, or condemned as a neo-colonialism hack who only writes stories which 'prove' that those living in post-colonial India, Africa or the Caribbean had it much better under British rule. Maybe it is a little from 'column A' and a little from 'column B'. Whatever the viewpoint, there is no denying that Miguel Street is an amazing book and earns Naipaul the right to consider himself one of the best modern writers.
May 4, 2024
Country No 125 on my World Reading Journey - Trinidad and Tobago
The author is a Nobel Laureate. I can undestand why.
The book consists of chapters each describing the unique people of Miguel Street in the Capital of Trinidad - Port of Spain.
The book and its characters were so authentic. I felt that I was IN Trinidad during WWII.
Great book that I highly recommend.
5 stars
The author is a Nobel Laureate. I can undestand why.
The book consists of chapters each describing the unique people of Miguel Street in the Capital of Trinidad - Port of Spain.
The book and its characters were so authentic. I felt that I was IN Trinidad during WWII.
Great book that I highly recommend.
5 stars
December 10, 2019
A sequence of delightful vignettes that document the sometimes hilarious goings on in Miguel street in Port of Spain, Trinidad. There is a single child narrator for all of the stories that are further interconnected by major characters appearing in several of them. The style is brilliant, and I love the local English patois that most of the inhabitants use.
July 24, 2021
卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 賰丕賳鬲 鬲噩乇亘丞 賱胤賷賮丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丕賱賶 毓卮丕賳 毓乇賮鬲賳賷 毓賱賶 丿賵賱丞 賲賰賳鬲卮 爻賲毓鬲 毓賳賴丕 賯亘賱 賰丿丕 "鬲乇賷賳丿丕丿" 丕賱賱賶 - 兀賲丕 亘丨孬鬲 毓賳賴丕 - 賱賯賷鬲 氐賵乇賴丕 噩賲賷賱丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞 賰兀賳賴丕 丨乇賮賷丕 丨鬲丞 賲賳 丕賱噩賳丞...
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賲賳 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 毓賱賶 賱爻丕賳 賵賱丿 賰丕賳 毓丕賷卮 賴賳丕賰...
賮賷 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 賴鬲卮賵賮 爻丕卅賯 毓乇亘丞 丕賱賯賲丕賲丞 丕賱賲睾乇賵乇 賵 丕賱卮禺氐 丕賱賱賶 亘賷鬲毓丕乇賰 賵 賷囟乇亘 兀賴賱賴 丿丕賷賲丕 賵 丕賱賳噩丕乇 丕賱賱賶 卮睾丕賱 胤賵賱 丕賱賷賵賲 賮賷 丨丕噩丞 賲丨丿卮 賷毓乇賮賴丕 賵 禺亘賷乇 丕賱賲賮乇賯毓丕鬲 丕賱賳丕乇賷丞 賵 丕賱爻鬲 丕賱賱賶 毓賳丿賴丕 佟佗 胤賮賱 賵 丕賱卮丕毓乇 丕賱賲睾賲賵乇 賵 丕賱賱賶 亘賷丨亘 兀賲乇賷賰丕 賵 亘賷賳爻賷 亘賱丿賴 賵 丕賱亘賱胤噩賷 賵 丕賱賲鬲毓賱賲 賵 睾賷乇賴 賵 睾賷乇賴
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘賷賳鬲賱賶 丕夭丕賶 丕賱丿賵賱 賵 丕賱兀賴賲 丕賱賳丕爻 卮亘賴 亘毓囟 禺氐賵氐丕 丕賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 馗乇賵賮賴賲 賲鬲卮丕亘賴丞 .. 鬲禺鬲賱賮 丕賱丕爻丕賲賷 賵 丕賱兀卮賰丕賱 賵 鬲鬲卮丕亘賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵 丕賱胤亘丕毓 賵 丕賱賲賵丕賯賮..
兀賰鬲乇 賲賳 賲乇丞 賵 兀賳丕 亘賯乇兀 兀丨爻 廿賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲賲卮賷 亘乇丿賵 亘丕爻賲 卮丕乇毓 賲氐乇賶 毓丕丿賶 賲毓 鬲睾賷賷乇 亘爻賷胤 賲毓 廿賳賴丕 毓賳 賲賰丕賳 賲禺鬲賱賮 鬲賲丕賲丕...
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賯爻賲丞 賱賮氐賵賱 賰賱 賮氐賱 毓賳 卮禺氐賷丞 賵 丿賴 丕賱賱賶 禺賱丕賳賶 兀賯乇兀賴丕 賮賷 賵賯鬲 胤賵賷賱 賱兀賳賷 亘賰賵賳 賲賳丿賲噩丞 兀賰鬲乇 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 丕賱賱賶 亘鬲毓賷卮賳賷 兀賰鬲乇 賮賷 丕賱賲賰丕賳 亘賵氐賮賴 賵 賵氐賮 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 賵 丿賴 丕賱賱賶 賲丨氐賱卮 賴賳丕 亘爻 賰丕賳 鬲噩乇亘丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賰丕賳鬲 噩賲賷賱丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞..
賵 亘丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賳爻禺丞 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱氐丕丿乇丞 毓賳 爻賱爻賱丞 丕賱噩賵丕卅夭 賲賯丿賲鬲賴丕 亘鬲丨賰賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰賱賴丕 鬲賯乇賷亘丕 賮丕賱丕丨爻賳 鬲鬲賯乇兀 賮賷 丕賱丌禺乇...
兀禺賷乇丕 丿賷 賰丕賳鬲 兀賵賱 賯乇丕亍丞 賱 賮 爻 賳丕賷亘賵賱 賵 廿賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 賲卮 丕賱丕禺賷乇丞 賮賷 賱賯丕亍 賯乇賷亘 廿賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 賲毓 亘賷鬲 丕賱爻賷丿 亘賷爻賵丕爻 丕賱賱賶 丕卮鬲乇鬲賴丕 賲丐禺乇丕 賲賳 丕賱賲毓乇囟 賵 賱爻丞 賲亘丿兀鬲卮 賮賷賴丕
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘鬲丨賰賷 毓賳 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞 賲賳 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 毓賱賶 賱爻丕賳 賵賱丿 賰丕賳 毓丕賷卮 賴賳丕賰...
賮賷 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 賴鬲卮賵賮 爻丕卅賯 毓乇亘丞 丕賱賯賲丕賲丞 丕賱賲睾乇賵乇 賵 丕賱卮禺氐 丕賱賱賶 亘賷鬲毓丕乇賰 賵 賷囟乇亘 兀賴賱賴 丿丕賷賲丕 賵 丕賱賳噩丕乇 丕賱賱賶 卮睾丕賱 胤賵賱 丕賱賷賵賲 賮賷 丨丕噩丞 賲丨丿卮 賷毓乇賮賴丕 賵 禺亘賷乇 丕賱賲賮乇賯毓丕鬲 丕賱賳丕乇賷丞 賵 丕賱爻鬲 丕賱賱賶 毓賳丿賴丕 佟佗 胤賮賱 賵 丕賱卮丕毓乇 丕賱賲睾賲賵乇 賵 丕賱賱賶 亘賷丨亘 兀賲乇賷賰丕 賵 亘賷賳爻賷 亘賱丿賴 賵 丕賱亘賱胤噩賷 賵 丕賱賲鬲毓賱賲 賵 睾賷乇賴 賵 睾賷乇賴
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘賷賳鬲賱賶 丕夭丕賶 丕賱丿賵賱 賵 丕賱兀賴賲 丕賱賳丕爻 卮亘賴 亘毓囟 禺氐賵氐丕 丕賲丕 鬲賰賵賳 馗乇賵賮賴賲 賲鬲卮丕亘賴丞 .. 鬲禺鬲賱賮 丕賱丕爻丕賲賷 賵 丕賱兀卮賰丕賱 賵 鬲鬲卮丕亘賴 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵 丕賱胤亘丕毓 賵 丕賱賲賵丕賯賮..
兀賰鬲乇 賲賳 賲乇丞 賵 兀賳丕 亘賯乇兀 兀丨爻 廿賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲賲卮賷 亘乇丿賵 亘丕爻賲 卮丕乇毓 賲氐乇賶 毓丕丿賶 賲毓 鬲睾賷賷乇 亘爻賷胤 賲毓 廿賳賴丕 毓賳 賲賰丕賳 賲禺鬲賱賮 鬲賲丕賲丕...
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賯爻賲丞 賱賮氐賵賱 賰賱 賮氐賱 毓賳 卮禺氐賷丞 賵 丿賴 丕賱賱賶 禺賱丕賳賶 兀賯乇兀賴丕 賮賷 賵賯鬲 胤賵賷賱 賱兀賳賷 亘賰賵賳 賲賳丿賲噩丞 兀賰鬲乇 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 丕賱賱賶 亘鬲毓賷卮賳賷 兀賰鬲乇 賮賷 丕賱賲賰丕賳 亘賵氐賮賴 賵 賵氐賮 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賵 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賮賷 賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 賵 丿賴 丕賱賱賶 賲丨氐賱卮 賴賳丕 亘爻 賰丕賳 鬲噩乇亘丞 賲禺鬲賱賮丞
丕賱鬲乇噩賲丞 賰丕賳鬲 噩賲賷賱丞 賱賱睾丕賷丞..
賵 亘丕賱賲賳丕爻亘丞 賳爻禺丞 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱氐丕丿乇丞 毓賳 爻賱爻賱丞 丕賱噩賵丕卅夭 賲賯丿賲鬲賴丕 亘鬲丨賰賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賰賱賴丕 鬲賯乇賷亘丕 賮丕賱丕丨爻賳 鬲鬲賯乇兀 賮賷 丕賱丌禺乇...
兀禺賷乇丕 丿賷 賰丕賳鬲 兀賵賱 賯乇丕亍丞 賱 賮 爻 賳丕賷亘賵賱 賵 廿賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 賲卮 丕賱丕禺賷乇丞 賮賷 賱賯丕亍 賯乇賷亘 廿賳 卮丕亍 丕賱賱賴 賲毓 亘賷鬲 丕賱爻賷丿 亘賷爻賵丕爻 丕賱賱賶 丕卮鬲乇鬲賴丕 賲丐禺乇丕 賲賳 丕賱賲毓乇囟 賵 賱爻丞 賲亘丿兀鬲卮 賮賷賴丕
April 28, 2012
Miguel Street probably ranks as the most poignant work of art I have ever read, stirring inside of me emotions that no piece of literature has ever had the power of doing. From the narrator's perspective, we are introduced to every character in his vicinity, portraying the diversity and the interaction between them. From banter to jokes, laughs and sorrow, intellectual conversations and heated arguments, this is a community within Trinidad where everything that happens in Miguel Street is nothing but the world for each and every one of the characters. It is a place where we hurt and laugh, but when we leave at the end with the character, tired by the pain and the inability of every character to fulfill his or her dream, it remains place that creates a nostalgia that makes us want to return to those dilapidated buildings and those forgotten roads that the government and the upper class may prefer to ignore as belonging to some slum that has no particular importance whatsoever. For those of us that read Miguel Street, we know better.
April 26, 2023
's is one of the author's earlier books set in Trinidad. It is a delightful read, very different from his later works like Bend of the River and The Enigma of Arrival. The book is essentially a set of interconnected short stories, each one concentrating on a separate character on Miguel Street. And, trust me, they are all characters -- and colorful ones at that.
Naipaul has a light touch in these stories, such that reading the book is like eating candy. It makes me want to read some of his other early works.
Naipaul has a light touch in these stories, such that reading the book is like eating candy. It makes me want to read some of his other early works.
April 17, 2018
I read this book for the first time as part of my literature class and I remember loving all the characters. This is one of my favorite V.S. Naipaul's books. I love a book with amazing characters, the kind that stick with you and that is what you get when you read Miguel Street.
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
September 3, 2019
Reminds me of Cannery Row by Steinbeck. I always love this style of storytelling and the setting was new and familiar to me, so it was a great read. More Naipaul is definitely in the future reading.
June 25, 2023
Vignettes of characters in 1930/1940s Port of Spain, Trinidad. Never stated, but assumed to be a semi-autobiographical work about Naipaul's youth with some flourishes, making it a novel instead of memoir.
Miguel Street's inhabitants are linked together by location, but also by hard knocks, hustling, and pain. Every story contains references to domestic violence, and that was unsettling.
1.5/5*
Miguel Street's inhabitants are linked together by location, but also by hard knocks, hustling, and pain. Every story contains references to domestic violence, and that was unsettling.
1.5/5*
January 26, 2019
禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 爻賵賲蹖賳 乇賲丕賳賽 賳丕蹖倬賱 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丿乇 爻丕賱 1959 賳賵卮鬲賴 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲 賵 亘乇賳丿賴 噩丕蹖夭賴 爻丕賱丕賳賴 爻丕賲乇爻鬲 賲賵丕賲 卮丿 讴賴 亘賴 賳賵蹖爻賳丿诏丕賳 噩賵丕賳 丕賳诏賱蹖爻蹖 夭亘丕賳 鬲毓賱賯 賲蹖 诏乇賮鬲. (夭 丿蹖诏乇 趩賴乇賴 賴丕蹖 爻乇卮賳丕爻蹖 讴賴 亘乇賳丿賴 丕蹖賳 噩丕蹖夭賴 卮丿賴 丕賳丿 賲蹖 鬲賵丕賳 亘賴 蹖丕賳 賲讴 丕蹖賵賵賳 賵 噩賵賱蹖丕賳 亘丕乇賳夭 丕卮丕乇賴 讴乇丿) 賳丕蹖倬賱 丕氐丕賱鬲蹖 賴賳丿蹖 丿丕乇丿 賵 丿乇 鬲乇蹖賳蹖丿丕丿 賵 鬲賵亘丕诏賵 亘賴 丿賳蹖丕 丌賲丿. 丿丕爻鬲丕賳賽 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丿乇 鬲乇蹖賳蹖丿丕丿 賲蹖 诏匕乇丿 賵 乇丕賵蹖 丿乇 賴乇 賮氐賱 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 蹖讴蹖 丕夭 丕賴丕賱蹖 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 乇丕 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖 讴賳丿. 丿乇 賮氐賱 倬丕蹖丕賳蹖 禺蹖丕胤 丿乇 讴賵夭賴 賲蹖 丕賮鬲丿 賵 乇丕賵蹖 爻乇丕睾 禺賵丿卮 賲蹖 乇賵丿. 蹖賵爻丕 丕夭 毓賱丕賯賴 賲賳丿丕賳 亘賴 賳丕蹖倬賱 丕爻鬲 賵 丕賵 乇丕 亘乇蹖鬲丕賳蹖丕蹖蹖 鬲乇蹖賳 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 亘乇蹖鬲丕賳蹖丕 賲蹖 丿丕賳丿. 賳丕蹖倬賱 丿乇 夭賲丕賳 賳賵卮鬲賳 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 爻賳 賵 鬲噩乇亘賴 丕丿亘蹖 讴賲蹖 丿丕卮鬲賴 丕爻鬲 (26 爻丕賱) 丕賲丕 亘賴 鬲讴賳蹖讴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳蹖 鬲爻賱胤 禺賵亘蹖 丿丕乇丿 賵 丿乇 賮囟丕爻丕夭蹖 亘賵賲蹖 鬲乇蹖賳蹖丿丕丿 禺蹖賱蹖 禺賵亘 毓賲賱 賲蹖 讴賳丿.
亘乇丕蹖 丌卮賳丕蹖蹖 亘丕 賯賱賲 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴 亘禺卮 丕亘鬲丿丕蹖蹖 賮氐賱 10 讴鬲丕亘 讴賴 睾乇蹖夭賴 賲丕丿乇丕賳 賳丕賲 丿丕乇丿 乇丕 丿乇 讴丕賲賳鬲 賴丕 賲蹖 賳賵蹖爻賲.
February 13, 2017
-37-
丕賱丨賲丿購 賱賱賻賾賴 丕賱卮丕賲賱賽 賱胤賮購賴貙 丕賱賰乇賷賲賽 毓胤賮購賴貙 丕賱睾丕賱亘賽 爻賱胤丕賳購賴貙 丕賱賵丕囟丨賽 亘乇賴丕賳購賴貙 丕賱賲鬲賲 賳賵乇賻賴: (賵賻賱賻賵 賰乇賽賴 丕賱賿賰丕賮賽乇購賵賳賻)貙 丕賱賲毓賱賷 丿賷賳賴 賵賱賵 乇賻睾賽賲賻 丕賱賲賳丕賮賯賵賳貙 賯丕賱 丕賱賲賳噩賳賷賯 丕亘賳 丨夭賲 "丕賱胤賲毓 兀氐賱 賰賱 賴賲"貙 兀賷賳 賲賳賷 賵兀賷賳貙 亘賷賳賷 賵亘賷賳賰 亘賷賳貙 兀賳丕 賲丨鬲丕乇 賲賳 噩丿賵賶 兀賷丕賲賷貙 賱丕 兀乇賶 爻賵賶 兀賲爻賷 丕賱賲賳氐乇賲貙 賯丕賱 丕賱賳賮乇賷 "賰賱賾賲丕 丕鬲爻毓鬲 丕賱乇丐賷丞.. 囟丕賯鬲 丕賱毓亘丕乇丞".. 兀賳丕 賮賷 兀夭賲丞 賵噩賵丿賷丞貙 賷賯賵賱 噩亘乇丕 廿亘乇丕賴賷賲 噩亘乇丕 "賷亘丿賵 兀賳 丕賱賴賳賵丿 賰丕賳賵丕 賲購丨賯賷賳 毓賳丿賲丕 賯丕賱賵丕: 兀賳 賴丿賮 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱兀賯氐賶 賴賵 丕賱禺賱丕氐!"貙 賵賯丕賱 兀亘賵 氐賯乇 丕賱兀賳氐丕乇賷 "賲鬲賶 - 賵兀賳丕 賮賷 毓賳賮賵丕賳 卮亘賷亘鬲賷 - * 兀乇賶 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賷 兀爻賵丿賻 丕賱丨馗賽賾 賷禺囟乇購賾貙 廿匕丕 丕毓賵噩賾 賱賷 賵丕賱馗賾賴乇購 賰丕賱乇賲丨 賯丕卅賲 * 賮賰賷賮賻 兀購乇噩賾賷賴賽 廿匕丕 丕丨丿賵丿亘賻 丕賱馗賾賴乇購".. 賯乇兀鬲 賲賳匕 兀賷丕賲 乇賵丕賷丞 賱賰锟斤拷鬲亘 賳賵亘賱賷 噩丿賷丿 毓賱賶 毓賷賳賷 賴賵 "賮.爻. 賳丕賷亘賵賱" 賰丕賳鬲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賷貙 賳丕丿乇賸丕 賲丕 兀賯乇兀 卮賷卅賸丕 賲鬲乇噩賲賸丕 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱爻賱丕爻賱 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲丞 賲賳 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 丕賱毓丕賲丞 賱賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賰乇鬲賴 噩賷丿丞貙 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕爻賲 "卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱" 賵賴賷 賱賷爻鬲 乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱賲賮賴賵賲 賲賳 賯氐丞 賵毓賯丿丞 賵丨賰丕賷丞貙 賱賰賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 噩毓賱賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 亘廿亘丿丕毓賴 丕賱禺丕氐貙 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 亘賵噩賴 禺丕氐 賲賳 鬲乇賷賳賷丿丕丿 賵鬲賵亘丕噩賵貙 丿賵賱丞 匕丕鬲 毓乇賯賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞貙 爻賵丿 兀賮丕乇賯丞 賲賳 兀賷丕賲 鬲噩丕乇丞 丕賱乇賯賷賯 賵丌爻賷賵賷賷賳 賵賴賳賵丿 賵氐賷賳賷賷賳 賵亘毓囟 丕賱兀賵乇賵亘賷賷賳 賲賳 兀賷丕賲 丕賱丕爻鬲毓賲丕乇貙 噩賲毓 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱兀噩賳丕爻 丕賱賲鬲賳丕賮乇丞 賮賷 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 毓丕氐乇賴丕 賮賷 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 噩毓賱賴丕 毓賳賵丕賳 賱賰賱 賮氐賱 賲賳 賮氐賵賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴貙 賰賱 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 鬲毓丕賳賷 睾乇丕亘丞 賮賷 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲賴丕 丕賱丨賷丕鬲賷丞貙 賱賰賳賴丕 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 卮毓亘賷丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨乇賮賷 賱乇噩賱 丕賱卮丕乇毓貙 賵噩毓賱 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賳賮爻賴 丕賱乇丕賵賷 賱賰賱 卮禺氐賷丞 亘賲賱丕賲丨賴丕 賵賲賵丕賯賮賴丕 賵賳賰亘丕鬲賴丕 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞貙 毓丕賲丞賸 賰賱 卮禺氐賷丞 鬲毓丕賳賷 禺賷亘丞 賵噩賵丿賷丞 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴丕貙 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賲胤 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賯乇兀鬲賴 賮賷 亘丿丕賷丞 丨賷丕鬲賷 賮賷 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賳噩賷亘 賲丨賮賵馗貙 賵毓賱賶 丕賱兀禺氐 賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 "丕賱賲乇丕賷丕" 賵"丕賱爻乇丕亘" 賵"丨丿賷孬 丕賱氐亘丕丨 賵丕賱賲爻丕亍"貙 毓賳丿賲丕 噩毓賱 賳噩賷亘 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 胤賮賵賱鬲賴 賮賷 氐賵乇丞 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲丨賵乇賷丞 賱賰賱 賮氐賱 兀賵 亘丕亘 賲賳 兀亘賵丕亘 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲鬲卮丕亘賰 賲氐丕卅乇賴賲 賲毓賸丕 賲毓 丕鬲爻丕毓 丕賱乇賵賷 賵丿禺賵賱 賲夭賷丿 賲賳 丕賱兀亘胤丕賱 賮賷 丿賵丕卅乇 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟貙 賱丕 兀毓賱賲 賲賳 兀氐賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲貙 賵賴賱 鬲兀孬乇 賳噩賷亘 亘賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱丨賰賷 賮賷 賯乇丕亍丕鬲賴 賱賱兀丿亘 丕賱毓丕賱賲賷貙 毓丕賲丞賸 兀賳丕 賵噩丿鬲 噩賵 丕賱胤乇丕賮丞 丨丕囟乇賸丕 亘卮丿丞 賮賷 胤乇賷賯丞 賰鬲丕亘丞 賳丕賷亘賵賱貙 噩賲賷毓 兀亘胤丕賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 乇丕賯賵丕 賱賷 乇睾賲 賵囟丕毓鬲賴賲 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵爻賵亍 兀賯丿丕乇賴賲貙 賵兀乇賶 兀賳 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲 乇睾賲 亘毓囟 丕賱乇賰丕賰丞 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱毓亘丕乇丕鬲 兀噩丕丿 鬲乇噩賲丞 噩賲賱 "賳丕賷亘賵賱" 賵賵氐賱 賱賲丕 兀乇丕丿 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 兀賳 賷賯賵賱賴 賮賷 賳爻禺鬲賴 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞貙 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲 賴賵 丿. 兀丨賲丿 賴賱丕賱 賷爻貙 爻亘賯 兀賳 匕賰乇鬲 亘賲乇丕噩毓丞 爻丕亘賯丞 賲賱丨賵馗丞 兀賳賷 丕卮鬲乇賷鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘賳氐賮 孬賲賳賴丕 賮賷 禺氐賵賲丕鬲 賲毓乇囟 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱兀禺賷乇貙 孬賲賳賴丕 丕賱兀氐賱賷 賴賵 鬲爻毓丞 噩賳賷賴丕鬲 賵賳氐賮 丕賱噩賳賷賴貙 賱賵 丕卮鬲乇賷鬲賴丕 亘孬賲賳賴丕 丕賱兀氐賱賷 賱賲 兀賰賳 賱兀禺爻乇 丕賱賰孬賷乇 兀賷囟賸丕 乇睾賲 兀賳 賴賳丕賰 亘毓囟 丕賱兀禺胤丕亍 丕賱廿賲賱丕卅賷丞 丕賱卮丕卅毓丞 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱胤亘丕毓丞 胤賷賱丞 賯乇丕卅鬲賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞貙 賱賰賳賷 丕爻鬲賲鬲毓鬲 亘賴丕 賵兀毓鬲亘乇賴丕 噩賷丿丞 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇賷 丕賱禺丕氐貙 賯丕賱鬲 廿丨丿丕賴賳 "賵賯丿 賷兀鬲賷 丕賱爻乇賵乇 賲賳 丨賷孬 鬲兀鬲賷 丕賱賲賰丕乇賴"貙 賵賯丕賱 噩賲賷賱 卮賷禺賵 "丕賱賲孬賯賮 丕賱賲賳丕賮賯 賯賱賲 丕賱卮賷胤丕賳!"貙 廿賳賷 兀亘乇兀 廿賱賷賰 賷丕 乇亘賷 兀賳 兀賰賵賳 賯賱賲賸丕 賱賱卮賷胤丕賳貙 賷丕 廿禺賵鬲賷 廿賳賷 丨夭賷賳貙 胤賱毓 丕賱氐亘丕丨 賮賲丕 丕亘鬲爻賲鬲購貙 賵賱賲 賷賳乇 賵噩賴賷 丕賱氐亘丕丨貙 廿賳賷 廿賱賶 丕賱賱賴 丌賷亘貙 賯丕賱 賲丕乇賰 卮丕睾丕賱 "丕賱丨購亘賾 賵 丕賱禺賷丕賱 賷爻賷乇丕賳 噩賳亘賸丕 廿賱賶 噩賳亘".. 兀賲鬲賱賰購 丕賱禺賷丕賱貙 賱賰賳 鬲賵賱賶 毓賳賷 丕賱丨亘 賵賯丕賱 賷賻丕 兀賻爻賻賮賻丕貙 "賱賱賴 兀賷丕賲 鬲賯囟鬲 亘賰賲 = 賲丕 賰丕賳 兀丨賱丕賴丕 賵 兀賴賳丕賴丕... 賲乇鬲 賮賱賲 賷亘賯 賱賳丕 亘毓丿賴丕 = 卮賷亍 爻賵賶 兀賳 賳鬲賲賳丕賴丕".. 廿賱賶 丕賱賱賴 丕賱賲氐賷乇.
丕賱丨賲丿購 賱賱賻賾賴 丕賱卮丕賲賱賽 賱胤賮購賴貙 丕賱賰乇賷賲賽 毓胤賮購賴貙 丕賱睾丕賱亘賽 爻賱胤丕賳購賴貙 丕賱賵丕囟丨賽 亘乇賴丕賳購賴貙 丕賱賲鬲賲 賳賵乇賻賴: (賵賻賱賻賵 賰乇賽賴 丕賱賿賰丕賮賽乇購賵賳賻)貙 丕賱賲毓賱賷 丿賷賳賴 賵賱賵 乇賻睾賽賲賻 丕賱賲賳丕賮賯賵賳貙 賯丕賱 丕賱賲賳噩賳賷賯 丕亘賳 丨夭賲 "丕賱胤賲毓 兀氐賱 賰賱 賴賲"貙 兀賷賳 賲賳賷 賵兀賷賳貙 亘賷賳賷 賵亘賷賳賰 亘賷賳貙 兀賳丕 賲丨鬲丕乇 賲賳 噩丿賵賶 兀賷丕賲賷貙 賱丕 兀乇賶 爻賵賶 兀賲爻賷 丕賱賲賳氐乇賲貙 賯丕賱 丕賱賳賮乇賷 "賰賱賾賲丕 丕鬲爻毓鬲 丕賱乇丐賷丞.. 囟丕賯鬲 丕賱毓亘丕乇丞".. 兀賳丕 賮賷 兀夭賲丞 賵噩賵丿賷丞貙 賷賯賵賱 噩亘乇丕 廿亘乇丕賴賷賲 噩亘乇丕 "賷亘丿賵 兀賳 丕賱賴賳賵丿 賰丕賳賵丕 賲購丨賯賷賳 毓賳丿賲丕 賯丕賱賵丕: 兀賳 賴丿賮 丕賱丨賷丕丞 丕賱兀賯氐賶 賴賵 丕賱禺賱丕氐!"貙 賵賯丕賱 兀亘賵 氐賯乇 丕賱兀賳氐丕乇賷 "賲鬲賶 - 賵兀賳丕 賮賷 毓賳賮賵丕賳 卮亘賷亘鬲賷 - * 兀乇賶 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賷 兀爻賵丿賻 丕賱丨馗賽賾 賷禺囟乇購賾貙 廿匕丕 丕毓賵噩賾 賱賷 賵丕賱馗賾賴乇購 賰丕賱乇賲丨 賯丕卅賲 * 賮賰賷賮賻 兀購乇噩賾賷賴賽 廿匕丕 丕丨丿賵丿亘賻 丕賱馗賾賴乇購".. 賯乇兀鬲 賲賳匕 兀賷丕賲 乇賵丕賷丞 賱賰锟斤拷鬲亘 賳賵亘賱賷 噩丿賷丿 毓賱賶 毓賷賳賷 賴賵 "賮.爻. 賳丕賷亘賵賱" 賰丕賳鬲 賲賮丕噩兀丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賷貙 賳丕丿乇賸丕 賲丕 兀賯乇兀 卮賷卅賸丕 賲鬲乇噩賲賸丕 賮賷 賴匕賴 丕賱爻賱丕爻賱 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲丞 賲賳 丕賱賴賷卅丞 丕賱賲氐乇賷丞 丕賱毓丕賲丞 賱賱賰鬲丕亘 賮賰乇鬲賴 噩賷丿丞貙 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕爻賲 "卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱" 賵賴賷 賱賷爻鬲 乇賵丕賷丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱賲賮賴賵賲 賲賳 賯氐丞 賵毓賯丿丞 賵丨賰丕賷丞貙 賱賰賳 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 噩毓賱賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 亘廿亘丿丕毓賴 丕賱禺丕氐貙 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 亘賵噩賴 禺丕氐 賲賳 鬲乇賷賳賷丿丕丿 賵鬲賵亘丕噩賵貙 丿賵賱丞 匕丕鬲 毓乇賯賷丕鬲 賲禺鬲賱賮丞貙 爻賵丿 兀賮丕乇賯丞 賲賳 兀賷丕賲 鬲噩丕乇丞 丕賱乇賯賷賯 賵丌爻賷賵賷賷賳 賵賴賳賵丿 賵氐賷賳賷賷賳 賵亘毓囟 丕賱兀賵乇賵亘賷賷賳 賲賳 兀賷丕賲 丕賱丕爻鬲毓賲丕乇貙 噩賲毓 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賰賱 賴匕賴 丕賱兀噩賳丕爻 丕賱賲鬲賳丕賮乇丞 賮賷 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 毓丕氐乇賴丕 賮賷 卮丕乇毓 賲賷噩賱 噩毓賱賴丕 毓賳賵丕賳 賱賰賱 賮氐賱 賲賳 賮氐賵賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴貙 賰賱 丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 鬲毓丕賳賷 睾乇丕亘丞 賮賷 鬲氐乇賮丕鬲賴丕 丕賱丨賷丕鬲賷丞貙 賱賰賳賴丕 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 卮毓亘賷丞 亘丕賱賲毓賳賶 丕賱丨乇賮賷 賱乇噩賱 丕賱卮丕乇毓貙 賵噩毓賱 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賳賮爻賴 丕賱乇丕賵賷 賱賰賱 卮禺氐賷丞 亘賲賱丕賲丨賴丕 賵賲賵丕賯賮賴丕 賵賳賰亘丕鬲賴丕 丕賱卮禺氐賷丞貙 毓丕賲丞賸 賰賱 卮禺氐賷丞 鬲毓丕賳賷 禺賷亘丞 賵噩賵丿賷丞 賮賷 丨賷丕鬲賴丕貙 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賲胤 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賯乇兀鬲賴 賮賷 亘丿丕賷丞 丨賷丕鬲賷 賮賷 乇賵丕賷丕鬲 賳噩賷亘 賲丨賮賵馗貙 賵毓賱賶 丕賱兀禺氐 賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 "丕賱賲乇丕賷丕" 賵"丕賱爻乇丕亘" 賵"丨丿賷孬 丕賱氐亘丕丨 賵丕賱賲爻丕亍"貙 毓賳丿賲丕 噩毓賱 賳噩賷亘 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 胤賮賵賱鬲賴 賮賷 氐賵乇丞 卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賲丨賵乇賷丞 賱賰賱 賮氐賱 兀賵 亘丕亘 賲賳 兀亘賵丕亘 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲鬲卮丕亘賰 賲氐丕卅乇賴賲 賲毓賸丕 賲毓 丕鬲爻丕毓 丕賱乇賵賷 賵丿禺賵賱 賲夭賷丿 賲賳 丕賱兀亘胤丕賱 賮賷 丿賵丕卅乇 亘毓囟賴賲 丕賱亘毓囟貙 賱丕 兀毓賱賲 賲賳 兀氐賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丕鬲貙 賵賴賱 鬲兀孬乇 賳噩賷亘 亘賴匕丕 丕賱賳賵毓 賲賳 丕賱丨賰賷 賮賷 賯乇丕亍丕鬲賴 賱賱兀丿亘 丕賱毓丕賱賲賷貙 毓丕賲丞賸 兀賳丕 賵噩丿鬲 噩賵 丕賱胤乇丕賮丞 丨丕囟乇賸丕 亘卮丿丞 賮賷 胤乇賷賯丞 賰鬲丕亘丞 賳丕賷亘賵賱貙 噩賲賷毓 兀亘胤丕賱 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 乇丕賯賵丕 賱賷 乇睾賲 賵囟丕毓鬲賴賲 丕賱丕噩鬲賲丕毓賷丞 賵爻賵亍 兀賯丿丕乇賴賲貙 賵兀乇賶 兀賳 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲 乇睾賲 亘毓囟 丕賱乇賰丕賰丞 賮賷 亘毓囟 丕賱毓亘丕乇丕鬲 兀噩丕丿 鬲乇噩賲丞 噩賲賱 "賳丕賷亘賵賱" 賵賵氐賱 賱賲丕 兀乇丕丿 丕賱賰丕鬲亘 兀賳 賷賯賵賱賴 賮賷 賳爻禺鬲賴 丕賱毓乇亘賷丞貙 丕賱賲鬲乇噩賲 賴賵 丿. 兀丨賲丿 賴賱丕賱 賷爻貙 爻亘賯 兀賳 匕賰乇鬲 亘賲乇丕噩毓丞 爻丕亘賯丞 賲賱丨賵馗丞 兀賳賷 丕卮鬲乇賷鬲 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘賳氐賮 孬賲賳賴丕 賮賷 禺氐賵賲丕鬲 賲毓乇囟 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 丕賱兀禺賷乇貙 孬賲賳賴丕 丕賱兀氐賱賷 賴賵 鬲爻毓丞 噩賳賷賴丕鬲 賵賳氐賮 丕賱噩賳賷賴貙 賱賵 丕卮鬲乇賷鬲賴丕 亘孬賲賳賴丕 丕賱兀氐賱賷 賱賲 兀賰賳 賱兀禺爻乇 丕賱賰孬賷乇 兀賷囟賸丕 乇睾賲 兀賳 賴賳丕賰 亘毓囟 丕賱兀禺胤丕亍 丕賱廿賲賱丕卅賷丞 丕賱卮丕卅毓丞 兀孬賳丕亍 丕賱胤亘丕毓丞 胤賷賱丞 賯乇丕卅鬲賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞貙 賱賰賳賷 丕爻鬲賲鬲毓鬲 亘賴丕 賵兀毓鬲亘乇賴丕 噩賷丿丞 賲賳 賲賳馗賵乇賷 丕賱禺丕氐貙 賯丕賱鬲 廿丨丿丕賴賳 "賵賯丿 賷兀鬲賷 丕賱爻乇賵乇 賲賳 丨賷孬 鬲兀鬲賷 丕賱賲賰丕乇賴"貙 賵賯丕賱 噩賲賷賱 卮賷禺賵 "丕賱賲孬賯賮 丕賱賲賳丕賮賯 賯賱賲 丕賱卮賷胤丕賳!"貙 廿賳賷 兀亘乇兀 廿賱賷賰 賷丕 乇亘賷 兀賳 兀賰賵賳 賯賱賲賸丕 賱賱卮賷胤丕賳貙 賷丕 廿禺賵鬲賷 廿賳賷 丨夭賷賳貙 胤賱毓 丕賱氐亘丕丨 賮賲丕 丕亘鬲爻賲鬲購貙 賵賱賲 賷賳乇 賵噩賴賷 丕賱氐亘丕丨貙 廿賳賷 廿賱賶 丕賱賱賴 丌賷亘貙 賯丕賱 賲丕乇賰 卮丕睾丕賱 "丕賱丨購亘賾 賵 丕賱禺賷丕賱 賷爻賷乇丕賳 噩賳亘賸丕 廿賱賶 噩賳亘".. 兀賲鬲賱賰購 丕賱禺賷丕賱貙 賱賰賳 鬲賵賱賶 毓賳賷 丕賱丨亘 賵賯丕賱 賷賻丕 兀賻爻賻賮賻丕貙 "賱賱賴 兀賷丕賲 鬲賯囟鬲 亘賰賲 = 賲丕 賰丕賳 兀丨賱丕賴丕 賵 兀賴賳丕賴丕... 賲乇鬲 賮賱賲 賷亘賯 賱賳丕 亘毓丿賴丕 = 卮賷亍 爻賵賶 兀賳 賳鬲賲賳丕賴丕".. 廿賱賶 丕賱賱賴 丕賱賲氐賷乇.
March 14, 2018
A collection of short stories about growing up in Miguel Street in Trinidad. The narrator is being brought up by a single mum and the stories revolve around the different characters living in the street. There are 17 chapters which talk about Bogart, George, B.Wordsworth which I thought the saddest one about a poet and the loss of his wife. Titus Hoyt the teacher who wants recognition to Hat and his antics.
One common thread I did not like was the continual domestic and child abuse as part of the norm. Of course it was a different era but it still does not make it right. In saying that there are lots of comedic episodes, such as Bhakeu the hopeless mechanic.
One common thread I did not like was the continual domestic and child abuse as part of the norm. Of course it was a different era but it still does not make it right. In saying that there are lots of comedic episodes, such as Bhakeu the hopeless mechanic.
June 2, 2019
Reading this book was like experiencing the pleasure as a child of squishing vibrant finger paints between my fingers and slowly smearing them onto a sheet of white paper. The colors ran together and jumped off of each other and filled the white page with intriguing images. 'Miguel Street' is a masterpiece of character development, colorful imagery, caribbean flavor, and charming story-telling. the short stories are street-smart yet tender, narrated with the wisdom, innocence, and insight of a young boy. A real joy to read!
December 24, 2023
My last reading goal for 2018 - to read a book by V. S. Naipaul. I had difficulties deciding which book to read. On the one hand, I wanted to read something set in the Caribbean with a pinch of his Indian background, on the other hand, I wanted the book to not be too long. So I settled for "Miguel Street" - a type of novel, where each chapter is dedicated to one character. Now I'm not a fan of vignettes, because to me the story can feel quite disjointed. Luckily, V. S. Naipaul has several themes running throughout the book, which integrates the chapters well. We meet characters that I guess were inspired by people V. S. Naipaul grew up with in Trinidad. Most of the men are unique characters with contradictory actions and who professionally are to a large extent failures. Most of them have trouble with women and wives. Unfortunately child-beating was quite common in most families during that time. Problems with women tended to be a catalyst for change. At least there was a thread here going through most stories, but I don't think I will remember most of the characters and most of the stories ended in a way that felt like I didn't understand or was missing something. There's also a theme of the print media and how news travels fast. Most of the characters are perceived differently by society in contrast to who they truly are. Also I found it quite amazing, how almost everybody had to catch a break and leave Miguel Street, though some of them do return. The colloquial language used in the novel added a nice touch.Overall, the book was alright, but I still feel I haven't really read a true novel by V. S. Naipaul yet. I will forget this book probably.
"If a man want something, and he want it really bad, he does get it, but when he get it he don't like it."
"If a man want something, and he want it really bad, he does get it, but when he get it he don't like it."
December 16, 2016
So this is full and final ... It wins the best book of 2016 title for me beating all the others. A perfect example of why we read books. I mean this was so awesome that I took 20 days to finish this 200 page book. Just to spare it for the next day even when yesterday I was about to finish I left 5 last pages in greed to fill the passage for next day.
If a man want something, and he want it really bad he does get it, but when he get it he doesn't like it.
鈥淎 stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say 鈥淪um!鈥� because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Mam-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.鈥�
I am again going to re-read it. This was so good that I was objecting myself to do not rush, just dip and sip the words.
17 Stories capturing the sky of Miguel street, a carpenter, a pyrotechnics, A Big-Foot kind of scary man who secretly cries, a lady still preaching her husband even after domestic violence ... I do not want to spoil the essence of this one.
Everyone should read this masterpiece. The language is so simple and yet deeply observed. It doesn't feel like reading the book its in being in the book living with the characters.
Thanks Petra X for introducing me this masterpiece :)
If a man want something, and he want it really bad he does get it, but when he get it he doesn't like it.
鈥淎 stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say 鈥淪um!鈥� because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Mam-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.鈥�
I am again going to re-read it. This was so good that I was objecting myself to do not rush, just dip and sip the words.
17 Stories capturing the sky of Miguel street, a carpenter, a pyrotechnics, A Big-Foot kind of scary man who secretly cries, a lady still preaching her husband even after domestic violence ... I do not want to spoil the essence of this one.
Everyone should read this masterpiece. The language is so simple and yet deeply observed. It doesn't feel like reading the book its in being in the book living with the characters.
Thanks Petra X for introducing me this masterpiece :)
April 24, 2020
賵蹖.丕爻.賳丕蹖倬賱 丿乇 乇賲丕賳 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 賲丕 乇丕 亘賴 鬲賲丕卮丕蹖 禺蹖丕亘丕賳蹖 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ必� 讴賴 賳爻蹖賲 賮乇丨亘禺卮 夭賳丿诏蹖 丿乇 丌賳 噩丕乇蹖爻鬲.
听禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丕賮爻賵賳蹖 丿丕乇丿 讴賴 賲丕 乇丕 亘丕 禺賵丿 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ必�
禺蹖丕亘丕賳蹖 倬賵蹖丕 賵 爻乇夭賳丿賴 爻乇卮丕乇 丕夭 睾賲鈥屬囏� 賵 卮丕丿蹖鈥屬囏�!
氐丿丕賴丕蹖 禺賳丿賴 賵 賴蹖丕賴賵蹖 亘趩賴鈥屬囏� 丿乇 爻乇鬲丕爻乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖鈥屬聚屭嗀�.
賯氐賴鈥� 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й� 鬲賳賴丕 賵 睾乇蹖亘 賵 噩賲毓 倬乇 卮賵乇 賵 賳卮丕胤 亘趩賴鈥屬囏й� 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱!
趩賴 噩賲毓 睾乇蹖亘蹖 !
賵 趩賴 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й� 毓噩蹖亘蹖!
赖賻鬲
鬲蹖鬲賵爻 賴賵蹖鬲
賲賵乇诏赛賳
賱賵乇丕
丕赛丿賵夭
丕赛丿賵丕乇丿
賵...
賲蹖诏賱 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 诏乇蹖賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕爻鬲 丕夭 鬲賴 丿賱 賵 禺賳丿賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕夭 爻乇 卮賵賯
丕賳诏丕乇丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 讴鬲丕亘 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 乇丕鈥� 亘賴 賵囟賵丨 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃屬� 賵 诏賵蹖蹖 賳亘卮 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 丕蹖爻鬲丕丿賴鈥屫й屬� 禺蹖乇賴 亘賴 丕賮賯 賵 丿乇 丨丕賱 鬲賲丕卮丕蹖 丿賵亘丕乇賴 夭賳丿诏蹖!
丨爻 丌卮賳丕蹖蹖 丿丕乇丿 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘貨亘丕丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賵鬲丕賴 丕賲丕 亘賴 賴賲 倬蹖賵爻鬲賴
乇賵丕蹖鬲 賳丕蹖倬賱 賲孬賱 丌亘貙 夭賱丕賱!
賲孬賱 丌亘 貙 噩丕乇蹖!
賲孬賱 丌亘 貙 诏賵丕乇丕爻鬲!
賳丕蹖倬賱 賲毓丿賳趩蹖 讴賴賳賴鈥屭┴ж臂� 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屬呚з嗀� 讴賴 丕夭 丿賱 鬲丕乇蹖讴蹖鈥屬囏� 賵 爻蹖丕賴蹖 乇诏賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕夭 胤賱丕 賲蹖鈥屰屫жㄘ� 賵 賳卮丕賳賲丕賳 賲蹖鈥屫囏� 乇爻丕賱鬲 乇賲丕賳 倬賳丿 賵 丕賳丿乇夭 丿丕丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲 賳卮丕賳 丿丕丿賳 诏賵卮賴鈥屫й� 丕夭 賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 倬蹖乇丕賲賵賳 賲丕爻鬲.
賳丕蹖倬賱 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴丕乇 賲賵賮賯 卮丿賴鈥屫ж池�.
丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賳賯胤賴 囟毓賮鈥屬囏й屰� 賴賲 丿丕乇丿 丕賲丕 賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 丕夭 丌賳鈥屬囏� 趩卮賲 倬賵卮蹖丿 賵 丕夭 禺賵丕賳丿賳 讴鬲丕亘 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿
賵 亘賴 賯賵賱 爻賴乇丕亘 爻倬賴乇蹖:
夭賳丿诏蹖 丌亘鬲賳蹖 丿乇 丨賵囟趩賴 丕讴賳賵賳 丕爻鬲
卮賲丕 乇丕 亘賴 丌亘鬲賳蹖 丿乇 丨賵囟趩賴 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丿毓賵鬲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�!
倬.賳:
亘賴 卮賲丕 賯賵賱 賲蹖鈥屫囐� 讴賴 賳丕賲 丕蹖賳 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賴賲蹖卮賴 丿乇 禺丕胤乇鬲丕賳 亘賲丕賳丿!!!
听禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丕賮爻賵賳蹖 丿丕乇丿 讴賴 賲丕 乇丕 亘丕 禺賵丿 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ必�
禺蹖丕亘丕賳蹖 倬賵蹖丕 賵 爻乇夭賳丿賴 爻乇卮丕乇 丕夭 睾賲鈥屬囏� 賵 卮丕丿蹖鈥屬囏�!
氐丿丕賴丕蹖 禺賳丿賴 賵 賴蹖丕賴賵蹖 亘趩賴鈥屬囏� 丿乇 爻乇鬲丕爻乇 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖鈥屬聚屭嗀�.
賯氐賴鈥� 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й� 鬲賳賴丕 賵 睾乇蹖亘 賵 噩賲毓 倬乇 卮賵乇 賵 賳卮丕胤 亘趩賴鈥屬囏й� 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱!
趩賴 噩賲毓 睾乇蹖亘蹖 !
賵 趩賴 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й� 毓噩蹖亘蹖!
赖賻鬲
鬲蹖鬲賵爻 賴賵蹖鬲
賲賵乇诏赛賳
賱賵乇丕
丕赛丿賵夭
丕赛丿賵丕乇丿
賵...
賲蹖诏賱 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 诏乇蹖賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕爻鬲 丕夭 鬲賴 丿賱 賵 禺賳丿賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕夭 爻乇 卮賵賯
丕賳诏丕乇丿乇 丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й� 讴鬲丕亘 賴賲賴 趩蹖夭 乇丕鈥� 亘賴 賵囟賵丨 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗃屬� 賵 诏賵蹖蹖 賳亘卮 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 丕蹖爻鬲丕丿賴鈥屫й屬� 禺蹖乇賴 亘賴 丕賮賯 賵 丿乇 丨丕賱 鬲賲丕卮丕蹖 丿賵亘丕乇賴 夭賳丿诏蹖!
丨爻 丌卮賳丕蹖蹖 丿丕乇丿 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘貨亘丕丿丕爻鬲丕賳鈥屬囏й屰� 讴賵鬲丕賴 丕賲丕 亘賴 賴賲 倬蹖賵爻鬲賴
乇賵丕蹖鬲 賳丕蹖倬賱 賲孬賱 丌亘貙 夭賱丕賱!
賲孬賱 丌亘 貙 噩丕乇蹖!
賲孬賱 丌亘 貙 诏賵丕乇丕爻鬲!
賳丕蹖倬賱 賲毓丿賳趩蹖 讴賴賳賴鈥屭┴ж臂� 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屬呚з嗀� 讴賴 丕夭 丿賱 鬲丕乇蹖讴蹖鈥屬囏� 賵 爻蹖丕賴蹖 乇诏賴鈥屬囏й屰� 丕夭 胤賱丕 賲蹖鈥屰屫жㄘ� 賵 賳卮丕賳賲丕賳 賲蹖鈥屫囏� 乇爻丕賱鬲 乇賲丕賳 倬賳丿 賵 丕賳丿乇夭 丿丕丿賳 賳蹖爻鬲 賳卮丕賳 丿丕丿賳 诏賵卮賴鈥屫й� 丕夭 賵丕賯毓蹖鬲 倬蹖乇丕賲賵賳 賲丕爻鬲.
賳丕蹖倬賱 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴丕乇 賲賵賮賯 卮丿賴鈥屫ж池�.
丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 賳賯胤賴 囟毓賮鈥屬囏й屰� 賴賲 丿丕乇丿 丕賲丕 賲蹖鈥屫堌з� 丕夭 丌賳鈥屬囏� 趩卮賲 倬賵卮蹖丿 賵 丕夭 禺賵丕賳丿賳 讴鬲丕亘 賱匕鬲 亘乇丿
賵 亘賴 賯賵賱 爻賴乇丕亘 爻倬賴乇蹖:
夭賳丿诏蹖 丌亘鬲賳蹖 丿乇 丨賵囟趩賴 丕讴賳賵賳 丕爻鬲
卮賲丕 乇丕 亘賴 丌亘鬲賳蹖 丿乇 丨賵囟趩賴 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賲蹖诏賱 丿毓賵鬲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁�!
倬.賳:
亘賴 卮賲丕 賯賵賱 賲蹖鈥屫囐� 讴賴 賳丕賲 丕蹖賳 禺蹖丕亘丕賳 賴賲蹖卮賴 丿乇 禺丕胤乇鬲丕賳 亘賲丕賳丿!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 577 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.