Actually, I did not finish this book. I think it was too stuck in its time for me, and difficult to read because I could not relate to it in any way. Not only does Naipaul show that he is a product of the racial stratification that was a by-product of colonialism, he writes in a voice that is simultaneously pompous and judgmental. But perhaps that is just my 21st Century, modern POC view. Perhaps if I could have forced myself to read on, I might have discovered something likable about the book, but I just don't have the energy to do so.

First off I am a huge fan of V S Naipaul and I’m also a Trinidadian and this book clearly shows what appears to be a very derogatory take on the culture he came from.

Interestingly in this book he describes the West Indian as being lazy, uneducated, fixated on racism in actuality it would appear that he is transferring his own prejudices to the people and cultures

Having grown up and lived in Trinidad in the period in which he wrote I can see he truly did not understand or take the time to really understand the culture. He simply painted it with a broad brush coated with his own issues
He really fell short in his analysis and understanding of the history culture and people

Clearly written by a person who fled his country and culture and like so many others disassociates and then demonizes it because by creating that separation he attempts to be what he views as better and more than what he truly is

If you find your library lacks diversity, consider this novel. Of course the Author is acclaimed, but this gem is less well- known. My family is Trinidadian, so I am biased, but it is clear that Naipal is not weighed down by nostalgia. I give this book 4 stars because it is truly outstanding.

Naipaul essentially insults several countries in the West Indies. But his ability to capture their problems with such precision makes it an intriguing read.

"Middle Passage" was my introduction to Naipaul and it occurred at the same moment I was being introduced to the Caribbean. I was attending a literary festival called Callabash which is where I brought the book. Naipaul had been bashed during a reading by Derek Walcott. It made me interested in this man considered to be a traitor to his homeland and the ethnic complexities of the Caribbean. The "Middle Passage" satisfied both curiosities. Naipaul's voice is exploratory and introspective. He draws connections throughout history to make sense of the present around him as he observes the various nations throughout his return to the region where he grew up.

Some time ago, a friend recommended that I read V.S. Naipaul since "he was an excellent prose stylist and close oberver of the human condition". I picked up several of Naipauls books in the past several years, but only sat down to read this one due to his recent demise. "The Middle Passage" is a memoir of Naipaul's visit back to his native Trinidad in 1960, ten years after he left to study at Oxford. Naipaul, who appeared to me to be an outsider, lends an unsparing look at life in Trinidad, British Guiana, Surinnam, Martinique, Antigua, and Jamaica. Both the colonizers and the colonized come in for criticism. The book left me unsettled, but wanting to read more of his work.

Quite often one picks up a book written about Travel memoirs and expects each word to the melodic and soothing to one's vigorous imagination of a distant land. Unlike anything as such, Naipaul, the master that he is with is words, gives a fantastic version of the Colonial impact in the Caribbean Islands. These islands were the lesser known places when one needs to understand Colonialism at it's very best.
Vidia Naipaul makes precise incisions in the societal impacts of the back then (in the 1960s) major problems of racism in these colonies and also manages to point out the lack of Individualism in terms of belonging the Native Caribbean culture, as opposed to following the following the ever strong European cum White ideals that the imperialist/colonialists preached. Though Naipaul was a Trinidadian by birth, some of his words do sound vociferous for his own country but also denote the fact that the countries had prevalent problems and the local attitude didn't seem to help. Some of his words were straight up to the point of what Naipaul really meant, some anecdotes that were clumsy yet worth mentioning; overall making this book a great work in terms of understanding the aftermath of the ever-so-evil Colonialism and how the countries 50 years or so back then were coping up with cultural turmoil of adopting to new ways while clinging on to old ones.
Concisely, The Middle Passage is a book only a few with depth of understanding the dynamics of the organic, mixed Caribbean Society can fathom and come to really like.

Reading "The Middle Passage" is akin to attempting parallel conversations with both Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde. While the book reeks of astounding clarity, the illuminating bits are punctuated by a condescension that is to say the least, infuriating. The style is typical Naipaul - irascible, irreverent and yet, indispensable.

In 1960, V.S.Naipaul undertook a year long journey from London to the Caribbean, a land which not only represented his motherland, but also a region that had left him disillusioned, disenchanted and despondent. This tour which was undertaken at the behest of the Trinidad Government transported Naipaul to distinct Caribbean regions such as Trinidad, British Guiana, Suriname, Grenada, Martinique and Jamaica. This is Naipaul's first travelogue and is a canvas of contradictions. Lush and verdant rushes of green grapple with corrugated tin roofs and abject squalor as Naipaul encounters Dickensian paradoxes every step of his way. Lame boarding houses manned by lethargic owners and lackadaisical servants come for some scathing revulsion. Naipaul elegantly holds forth on aspects such as colonial inflections and influences/remnants of decolonization. For example in Martinique the overarching influence of the French and in Suriname, the powerful undertones of a permanent Dutch presence, makes the reader wonder about the preservation or rather desecration of the original roots of an indigenous tribe enslaved for centuries before being emancipated. Such an emancipation however is merely symbolic as the controlled populace even in freedom not only take on the veneer and attributes of the controlled but also derive a perverse feeling of pleasure and patrimony.

The raging undercurrents of racial rift which pits an Indian against a black 'Negro' (yes the derogatory term was in vogue when Naipaul penned this book); a black against a coloured; and a coloured against the white, is an uncomfortably common aspect permeating the Caribbean like the bauxite that covers the unpaved roads. Phony reconciliations and forced peace represent taut strings waiting for an appropriate opportunity to snap so that violent vent is employed as a most suitable measure to overcome an inherent frustration that is the hallmark of a disgruntled Caribbean national.

Naipaul draws on the earlier works of Anthony Trollope and Patrick Leigh Fermour, the latter's experiences with the sights and sounds of the Caribbean ranging from the merry to the macabre. Quoting passages from Trollope, Naipaul blends Trollope's experiences with his own feelings and emotions. As a travel writer, Naipaul is at the peak of his brilliant abilities, exquisitely detailing the contours of the landscape he passes by. Adopting a matter-of-fact yet embellishing tone of narrative, Naipaul seamlessly transitions from one culture to the next. But one can sense an unmistakable bias in the author in his disenchantment with the Caribbean. Highlighting socio-economic, political and cultural deficiencies and resorting to unabashed condescension when writing about the foibles and frailties of an enfeebled mass of humanity, Naipaul comes across as a brash, brusque and blatant critic unwilling to accommodate to either reason or circumstance.

In conclusion "The Middle Passage" makes for some invigorating reading and goes a great way in providing a rudimentary, elementary and fundamental peek into the Caribbean way of life and living.

Fascinating account of the West Indies at that time (language definitely of a time and place...), very honest account of the effects of colonialism on the area

I was 14 when I attempted to read The Middle Passage for my book report. Awful, awful decision. I remember not understanding half (maybe more) of what Naipaul was describing. I didn't even know who Humphrey Bogart was at that time, or if he even was slightly significant to the story. You'd need a good background of social histories to fully grasp what he's trying to describe as the travel goes along. Otherwise, you're left with lengthy descriptions of (probably) unfamiliar settings, characters, and backgrounds. Bottom line, it's not something a "general" 14-year old would appreciate. And it's definitely not what you'd want when you're cramming a book report. For college kids or older readers? I'll try to find out soon...

after re-reading this great little travel novel I changed my rating form 4 to 5 stars. Naipaul remains one of my favourite writers and this book finds him at his best. More than just as travel book, as a good travel book should be; witty and insightful observation, well-read history and filled with socio-cultural critique. A great snapshot of a part of the Caribbean at the time when many colonies were moving into independence , Naipaul, with his superb prose, effortlessly captures these new nations in this difficult time, focusing on the themes of his earlier fictional work, that of the struggle to find a common identity at the end of colonialism

When I buy a new book first published decades ago ('Middle Passage' ist published 1962) I worry about lousy POD editions - thank God that wasn't the case. Good binding, no typos.
My second V.S. Naipaul book. I doubt he ever published a second-rate book. I have two more of his books on my shelf and look forward to reading them.

The legacy of slavery and colonialism in the Caribbean; racial strife, poverty...

A quote from page 2 on being a black emigrant from a British Caribbean colony trying to make a better life in the motherland; ‘Eh! I tell you about the foreman?’ He spoke easily; the train was not England. ‘One day he say, “Blackie, come here a minute.” I watch at him, and I say, “Good, I coming.” I went up and hit him baps! Clean through a glass window.’
I thought to myself, I’m going to like this book. As I read through it, I could easily see parallels with our own nation today. Unless progress aligns perfectly with personal gain for the powerful, it’s a rough go.

Here, just one of many in the book, is another amusing anecdote, “My own encounter had been with a fat brown-skinned Grenadian of thirty-three. He said he had ten children in Grenada…by various women. …He loved this child; he didn’t care for the others. I asked why, then, he had had so many. Didn’t they have contraceptives in Grenada? He said with some indignation that he was a Roman Catholic; and for the rest of the journey never spoke to me.”

Page 62; “This was the greatest damage done to the Negro by slavery. (According to V.S., the blacks of the Caribbean circa 1960 were offended if called an African.) It taught him self-contempt. It set him the ideals of white civilization and made him despise every other.”

Page 63; “20,000,000 Africans made the Middle Passage.”
Asked Google and got, “Most contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12 million Africans arrived in the New World…another 2 million died en route.” This with wooden sailing ships and no medical care. The estimate of circa 1960 was quite close.

V.S. Naipaul’s book was much more than a travelogue or history report. I believe he could make a trip to the grocery interesting. He puts so much of himself into his works. There were good reasons for his winning the Nobel. He was a man of strong opinions and not shy about expressing them. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/v-s... The article is worth the read.

British Guiana – “Sugar cane is an ugly crop and it has an ugly history.”

From the section on Surinam: Bit of history: sugarcane introduced to the New World by Columbus on his 2nd voyage. Well, maybe. Could not verify that on Google. Perfecting the refining process took considerable effort by many a pioneer. Sugar would be an interesting subject to delve into. That sugar was the crop that drove slavery isn’t so doubtful. The demand was insatiable. Slavery engendered a thousand more evils.

Yet another quote, page 189, “(There is)…slavery in the absence of family life, in the laughter in the cinema at films of German concentration camps, in the fondness for terms of racial abuse, in the physical brutality of strong to weak; nowhere in the world are children beaten as savagely as in the West Indies.”

In the eighteenth century, like Caribbean hurricanes, slave revolts were frequent and violent. In several instances, they were also successful. In Surinam the Africans escaped to the interior and replicated African village life on the banks of the interior rivers.

The history lesson is nice, but it is how Naipaul relates current life in Surinam, British Guiana, Trinidad, Jamaica, and the small islands, that the book shines. “Current” being almost 60 years ago.

Following is a summation paragraph from page 241; pertinent to the mess we now find ourselves in with the reactionary, anti-science, anti-progress Republicans. “For the uneducated masses, quick to respond to racial stirrings and childishly pleased with destructive gestures, (“childish”, “destructive”…does that remind you of anyone?) the protest leader will always be a hero.”
Substitute demagogue for “protest leader” and the sentence is spot on.

‘The Middle Passage: The Caribbean Revisited’ is 243 pages of cogent writing.