An area of darkness

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An area of darkness

Jacket front has an organic design of leaves or petals on a dark ground. A photograph of author V. S. Naipaul is on the jacket back flap.

About this item

Title:: An area of darkness

Identifier:: DS421.N31966

Permalink:: https://n2t.net/ark:/81984/d3383m

Type:: Image

Notes:: An Area of Darkness (1966) is a semi-autobiographical account of a year that Naipaul spent in India in 1964. The opening section deals with the difficulties surrounding bureaucracy in the country. The rest of the book is divided into three parts. In part one, Naipaul speaks about his ancestors leaving India as indentured laborers. He also deals with his first experiences with the division between Muslims and Hindus. In addition, he explains the manifestation of caste, and although he elucidates the brutality of this institution he expresses sadness at the decay of old customs and rituals. One of the best known excerpts of section one discusses Indians' custom of defecating everywhere and their refusal to acknowledge the practice. Part two talks about his relationships with the various people who worked in the hotel in Kashmir where he stayed, and the ensuing conflicts. He explains the function of the Indian Civil Service. He also gives an account of his experience climbing the Himalayas with pilgrims traveling to the Cave of Amarnath the Eternal Lord. Finally, section three deals with the British occupation of India. He discusses Britain's manipulation of the raj and Kipling's accurate portrayal of the Anglo-Indian encounter. Finally, Naipaul concludes that, for him, India will remain an area of darkness, and that he values his status as a colonial without a strong and static past or set of ancestors. Reviews and articles on Naipaul's works are numerous and varied, roughly divided into two camps. Several critics resort to vitriolic abuse, accusing Naipaul of degrading the Third World in the interest of promoting neo-colonialism, while the prevailing evaluation of Western critics puts Naipaul at the forefront of contemporary writers in English. Friends of emerging societies fault his disparaging depictions of his origins; traditionalists of Western orientation are only too eager to have their own superiority validated. However, although they are tough to find, well-balanced literary assessments do exist.