A House for Mr. Biswas Audiobook By V. S. Naipaul cover art

A House for Mr. Biswas

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A House for Mr. Biswas

By: V. S. Naipaul
Narrated by: Sam Dastor
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A House for Mr. Biswas, by Nobel and Booker Prize-winning author V. S. Naipaul, is a powerful novel about one man's struggle for identity and belonging. Born into poverty, then trapped in the shackles of charity and gratitude, Mr. Biswas longs for a house he can call his own. He loathes his wife and her wealthy family, upon whom he is dependent. Finding himself a mere accessory on their estate, his constant rebellion is motivated by the one thing that can symbolize his independence. The book is striking in its lush and sensual descriptions of Trinidad and was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

©1969 V.S. Naipaul (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks Caribbean Creators Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Small Town & Rural World Literature Funny Emotionally Gripping Witty

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Cultural Insights • Beautiful Writing • Excellent Narration • Compelling Life Journey • Vivid Setting

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This might be a bit too cerebral for me. I confess I found thus widely praised classic boring.

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21.5 Hours and 623 Pages of Compelling Frustration

#ahouseformrbiswas is a beautifully written novel by #vsnaipaul that wonderfully captures the Indian immigrant experience of #brahmin class in much of the Caribbean. It is also extremely frustrating as, per the depiction of #naipaul the vast and extremely insular Indian families are exceedingly aggravating, bullying and humiliating of one another in ways I find intolerable. Reading around the story, I believe that was the case with the author as well.

Main character #mohunbiswas (modeled after the author's father) was born of a poor immigrant Indian family in #trinidad where they had been brought as laborers after the abolition of slavery. Living in abject poverty despite the Brahmin status, Mohun was considered unlucky by an Indian holy man because he was born with six fingers on one hand. While educated at the missionary school he had limited prospects but circumstances found him marrying into a huge, well connected and prosperous family that did little for his personal advancement as his poverty forced him to live with his wife and raise his children on the various properties of his in-laws. With only two sons and 14 daughters, the male children were sheltered and spoiled while the daughters, their husband and seemingly countless children and grandchildren live a communal life with the family ran by the widowed Mrs. Tulsi and her brother in law who serves as the estate overseer. His power and bullying influence is unquestioned and modeled as family members align to aggravate and humiliate each other as a means of establishing oneself in the familial pecking order.

As the title suggests, the 25 year or so story arc shows Mohun desperately trying to carve out a future for himself and his family and escape the grip of the Tulsi family. It also documents a little know aspect of Trinidad history in the years before and after #worldwarii as the Caribbean island nation undergoes its own economic and political evolution, being a seemingly forgotten #british planter colony of a few whites and many #black and Indian laborers attempting to elevate their status as, first laboring subjects of the #unitedkingdom and then contractors for the #unitedstates military which occupied the strategically located Caribbean island during and after the War. Like Mr. Biswas's son, V.S. Naipul used his education and brilliant mind to achieve higher education at #cambridge and became on the the millions of foreign British subjects to find opportunity and a new life in Great Britain.

Though this novel was released in 1961, it is part of the body of work that netted him the #bookerprize in 1971, the #nobelprizeforliterature in 2001 and the #72 position on the #modernlibrarytop100novels which is why I ended up coming across his work at this time. Interestingly, he also occupies the #82 position as well with #abendintheriver which I will be getting to soon enough. I enjoyed this novel via #audible and narrator #samdastor did an excellent job telling the story. I appreciate that, as well as reading another #nobellaureate , I have likewise checked off one more from my global reading challenge with #trinidadandtobago . It was long and frustrating, but it was a beautifully written story well told. #readtheworldchallenge #readtheworld #globalreadingchallenge #trinidadandtobagoliterature

21.5 Hours and 623 Pages of Compelling Frustration

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This novel came to interest me when I first heard it mentioned on the QI television program in Britain. I had never read a novel about Indian people before, nor did I know much about their lives in Trinidad. I found it very illuminating with regard to Indian culture and changing times.
The overwhelming sadness of this book made it rather a chore to complete. most of the characters seem unsympathetic, or at worst hard to approach. now I feel I must study up on what other readers have gleaned from this novel, as I don't feel I've taken much away with me.

So much good prose

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This is a long, funny, sad, sometimes frustrating story about a man who dreams of something better. It's not an easy listen, but well worth the time invested in the end. As always, Sam Dastor brings the story to life with his narration. I could honestly listen to this guy read the phone book. He interprets the author's words beautifully.

Thoughtful story, WONDERFULLY narrated

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Many different accents, Helps the color of the many characters. Nice flow, welcomes story into your mind and heart. Loved.

Great Performance. Great Story.

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