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The Mimic Men

v.s. naipaul

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'A Tolstoyan spirit...The so-called third World has produced no more brilliant literary artist' - John Updike, "New Yorker". Born of Indian heritage, raised in the British-dependent Caribbean island of Isabella, and educated in England, forty-year-old Ralph Singh has spent a lifetime struggling against the torment of cultural displacement. Now in exile from his native country, he has taken up residence at a quaint hotel in a London suburb, where he is writing his memoirs in an attempt to impose order on a chaotic existence. His memories lead him to recognize the cultural paradoxes and tainted fantasies of his colonial childhood and later his attempts to fit in at school, his short-lived marriage to an ostenatious white woman. But it is the return of Isabella and his subsequent immersion in the roiling political atmosphere of a newly self-governing nation - every kind of racial fantasy taking wing - that ultimately provide Singh with the necessary insight to discover the crux of his disillusionment. 'Ambitious and successful...Extremely perceptive' - "The Times". 'The sweep of Naipaul's imagination, the brilliant fictional frame that expresses it, are in my view eithout equal today' - "New York Times Book Review".

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1967
Literary awards
wh smith literary award, 

This edition

Format
278 pages, Paperback
Published
January 1, 1967 by Picador
ISBN
9780330487108
ASIN
0330487108
Language
English

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About the author

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v.s. naipaul

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V. 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's 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.

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Community Reviews

Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 99 votes)
5 stars
35(35%)
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37(37%)
3 stars
27(27%)
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99 reviews All reviews
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KarmaSwanson
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Dense. Dense. Dense and dense some more. The book is like molasses- slow and beyond boring. I could not connect with any of the characters, I felt the descriptions and story was overwritten and overdone. It was just too much, as if Naipaul was trying hard. Now I have a very big aversion to this book. Overwritten and Dense.
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kooplicat
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This novel about the legacies of colonialism (specifically in Trinidad) features a well-rendered and believable story, but the narrative ultimately feels inert and devoid of deeper impact or meaning.
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DannyKetchum
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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I'm a commoner trying so hard to finish this book. Is it too early to call VS Naipaul overrated? Does this make me ignorant? Don't get me wrong, I understand the post-colonial social issues highlighted and the theme of displacement and Singh's search for identity etcetera but it just isn't as interesting as I was hoping it would be. I'm forcing myself to enjoy this book and its feeling like a task in itself.

To avoid any biasses I must acknowledge his literary brilliance and his extraordinary use of words. No lie, I chuckled a bit here and there. Unfortunately this book just isn't my cup of tea. I shall finish it simply because I have made it my goal to read at least 5 books written by Caribbean authors and this would make 4 out of 5.
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Scandinaff
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Naipaul's book that resonated most with me. I was drawn to its post-colonialist immigrant story, the idea of finding home in transient spaces, such as hotels and airports, and trying to fit into various communities, "mimicking" his various selves in order to survive in various contexts. It's about survival, though the narrator never finds home.
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monkeyyouwho
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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This didn't grab me as hard as Naipaul's other books. The main characters all seemed to be at a remove, especially the narrator. Due to this, it did not grab me as much as other novels of his have, and the beginning and part of the ending set in London are something of a claustrophobic slog to make it through. Still the middle sections and the very end are very much worth it. Also notable is the fact that it seems to be the least bitter of any of his novels I've ever read, even though many of the characters are infused with negative traits. It's a beautiful book, no doubt, but it won't haunt you like "A House for Mr. Biswas" would. I rate it three stars, relative to his other works.
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rainyspring
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Naipaul's The Mimic Men explores the postcolonial mimicry of people trying to establish an identity. Ranjit Singh, who changes his name to Ralph in an attempt of anglicization, straddles different cultures but, due to his worldliness, never really belongs. Some of the prose in the book is genius and I reread certain segments just to appreciate the artistry. Other parts felt tedious and, to me at least, unnecessary. If it didn't include the drawn out section of his work for the socialist paper, during which nothing really happens, I would give it four stars. Moments made me laugh out loud because the writing is so cutting but the story itself could offer more.
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erekday
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 17,2025
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Esta novela no me gustó mucho, lo cual lamento porque tenía en mente que me iba a gustar Naipaul. Que -btw- se llama Vidiathar Surajprasad, por lo cual entiendo que su nombre de guerra sea V.S.

Hay colecciones o editoriales, o épocas, que entregan obras parecidas. Sin duda Planeta, y Anagrama también, tienen hoy colecciones sin sorpresas. También Seix Barral en los 70, tuvo una colección homogénea. Obras largas, detalladas, "realistas". Aburridas, sí, me animo a decirlo. En esa línea está Los simuladores.

Es un relato hecho desde el retiro -o el fin de los trabajos- de un político-funcionario de una colonia británica, que incluye infancia, juventud, esplendor y caída. Primera -y enorme- dificultad: el relato está compuesto desde adentro; para mí, que no soy ni inglés ni británico, ni kelper siquiera, tampoco negro o mulato o amerindio, ni musulmán ni hindi, para mí que soy un mero lector que lee 40 años después y muchos kilómetros alejados del escenario de los hechos, para mí, no tuvo el escritor ni una atención. Y así, sin explicaciones ni alusiones, es dificilísimo entender que está pasando. Por ejemplo, se habla al principio de un matrimonio mixto; muchas páginas después entiendo que se trata de una mujer blanca con un descendiente de indios (de la India). Pero esta oscuridad no es voluntad del autor, es que -ya lo dije- el relato no está pensado para personas ignorantes de la posición, y origen, que tiene en la sociedad el autor-relator. En cuanto a las relaciones sociales, políticas, de prestigio, raciales, culturales y sociales que son omnipresentes, la mayoría de las veces no podía seguirlas; porque si de repente hay un cuestión de prestigio por la claridad de la piel, pero no se entiende cual de los contendores es más oscuro, cual menos, la experiencia de seguir el relato no es muy satisfactoria.

Por otro lado, el relato es largo, lleno de detalles que muchas veces no aportan más que páginas. Cuando la acción se precipita, mejora.
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