Amandeep Sandhu » An Area of Darkness https://www.amandeepsandhu.com Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:10:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3 The Brown Sahib’s Gaze in the Hindu Literary Review https://www.amandeepsandhu.com/?p=781 https://www.amandeepsandhu.com/?p=781#comments Sat, 10 Jan 2015 15:42:08 +0000 aman http://www.amandeepsandhu.com/?p=781 When I was asked to review V S Naipaul’s seminal book An Area of Darkness, on the occasion of 50 years of its being banned, I approached the text with a mixture of feelings: respect for the craft of the writer but also a bit of apprehension about how he has talked about India in his articles, books, etc. I made sure I read him closely and question my own assumptions about Naipaul’s India. Unfortunately, he did not give me a chance to vindicate himself. It is sad, but it must be said that through his career Naipaul has played to a western gallery, a stereotype.

‘Thank you for your supercilious attitude, Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul. We could really have done without your writing. Yet, while I was reading the book on a plane, a foreigner in the seat next to mine quickly took down the name of the book and told me she would read it. It is, after all, by a Nobel laureate. ’

Read full review on the book that is freely available now. …

 

 

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