Between Father and Son: Family Letters

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V.S Naipaul had been always tough to decipher irrespective of mt dad's constant praise and encouragement to read his works
Hell broke upon me when I had to read 'A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS' for an examination . All my earlier attempts were unsuccessful to understand this author. My gurus in English literature also could not provide aids to swim through "A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS'.
it was then I discovered 'LETTERS BETWEEN A FATHER AND SON' in a second hand book-shop in Bangalore (Bookworm to be precise)
With great courage I did initiate going through the letters and they were surprisingly amusing , unlike other literary works of the author.
The books has a compilation of letters primarily between Vidia (VS Naipaul), his sister Kamla (studying at BHU Banaras) and his journalist father staying in Trinidad.

The letters are exciting to read and began with an overview of the simplicity and humbleness of Vidia's father Sreeprasad. A man with meagre income but an impeccable taste in literature, art and selfless love for his family specially Vidia.

We also get a glimpse of the humble household and cunning maternal relatives that shaped Vidia's perspective towards his Trinidad. A major focus is on Vidia's life at Oxford (without being a book about Oxford University) , while his father's lectures on writing and literature is a priceless treasure.

Overburdened by responsibilities and aspirations, Sreeprasad's zeal to see Vidia achieve his unaccomplished achievements helped me understand the bitterness and honesty we see in his later writings (just an observation of my own)

This father and son duo were inseparable and it was Vidia who profusely encouraged Sreeprasad to not to give up with writing and finish his novel. The conversations related to laying the foundation of one such novel is very amusing to read. This bonding also helps in understanding the author in a personal way and wanted this conversation to go on for eternity.

Unfortunately the demise of Senior Naipaul halted this journey and the letters home can make you shed tears.

Vidia's love for his siblings is something very surprising. On one hand Kamla is like his partner in sheilding the family and younger ones like Mira, Sati , Savi , Shivan and infant Nalini are cared like his own children. The literary guidance addressed to the younger siblings happens to be my gateway to understand Milton's Paradise Lost.

Now that I know the man behind the undecipherable book, I am again planning to continue with 'A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS' in a hope to relive the beautiful bond the Naipaul family shared.

So winding up with 'LETTERS BETWEEN A FATHER AND A SON' , the raw material for 'A HOUSE FOR MR BISWAS' and planning to live his literary works. Maybe I might recommend V.S Naipaul to my children like my father.

Es un libro no de literatura pues como lo dice el título del mismo son cartas fechadas mientras Naipaul se encuentra estudiando lejos de su familia y su natal Trinidad y Tobago

Of all of Naipaul's work, this might be the most personal and touching. By becoming a writer, he fulfills his father's dream and ambition. The collections of letters plus Naipaul's additional writing are pure prose with poetic touch. It is a book that can be reread many times.

Tus cartas son encantadoras por su espontaneidad. Si pudieras escribirme contándolo todo sobre las cosas y la gente de Oxford -especialmente sobre la gente-, las reuniría en un libro CARTAS ENTRE UN PADRE Y UN HIJO, o MIS CARTAS DE OXFORD. ¿Qué te parece? Kamla parece incapaz de eso. Tú si puedes hacerlo; estoy seguro.

a delightful read. it's made up of letters exchanged between the writer( studying in Oxford, England at that time, on a scholarship) and his father( from Trinidad, writer's homeland) and writer's sister( studying in India).
Father and son both share the passion for writing and thus advising and exhorting each other to write, some real good advices there.
the emotional support in those letters for each other was touching.

After Alice Munro was awarded with the 2013 Nobel Prize in Literature, I came across "Between Father and Son" from V. S. Naipaul, another Nobel Prize winner. From his work, this particular title caught my attention, the relation between father and son is an interesting one. I was really curious to see how the father/son relation emerged through their letters. What I found was a great read with the story of V.S. Naipaul when he emigrates to Britain. I loved seeing how much more open minded he was at that time

Do you know? I got some Trinidad papers, read them, and found them hilariously absurd. I never realised before that the Guardian was so badly written, that our Trinidad worthies were so absurd, that Trinidad is the most amusing island that ever dotted a sea. The English are a queer people. Take it from me. The longer you live in England, the more queer they appear. There is something so orderly, and yet so adventurous about them, so ruttish, so courageous. Take the chaps in the college. The world is crashing about their heads, about all our heads. Is their reaction as emotional as mine? Not a bit. They ignore it for the most part, drink, smoke, and imbibe shocking quantities of tea and coffee, read the newspapers and seem to forget what they have read.
- Letters between A Father and Son by VS Naipul
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The book compiled all letters between VS Naipul and his father. Sometimes, there are exchanges responses made between him with his sister, Kamla and mother. I think this is first book i have read that exclusively featured past letters. Since this was supposed to be personal with unfiltered / uncensored content, I can’t help but felt both V.S Naipul and his father is such a snob. Oftentimes, some of these letters has so many misogynistic remarks about women in general or just how women behaviour is unacceptable or lacked class. I actually felt sorry for Kamla because i can see how she placed both her father and brother on pedestal and idolised them. Sure, the letter is supposed to be personal exchange and just like how sometimes men justified their locker room talk as it was supposed to be a secret, i can’t help but assumed people would say the same thing about these letters - that they are supposed to be kept between father and son. There are some genuine feelings and interactions in these letters - when they both encouraged each other to purse writings, motivating each other to keep persevering and even advising each other on how to resolve some issues - specifically about V.S Naipul’s siblings. I was surprised to see that they did chide Kamla’s bad behaviour in the letters but overlooked how V.S Naipul overspent and keep on mingling with foreign girls but i guess, what son did don’t really count does it? These letters also demonstrated how V.S Naipul always? looked down on others (especially if he find them lacking in intellect and couldn’t keep up with him) - its either something wrong with them or some statements just affirming his opinions specifically when he talked about West Indian. The fact his father can simply expressed his disdain towards Negroes and Muslims as few of their relatives were dating outside their community and religion was not surprising at all as we can see how it shaped VS Naipul thinking. I tried really hard to find redeemable qualities of this book. Aside from how well it was written, the close bond he has with his sister, Kamla and father - i honestly cant say much. Is it sad? absolutely. After all, this is how parents used to keep in touch with their kids abroad. Imagine that your son lives across the world as he further his study in Oxford, UK and the only communication you can have with him is via letters. These letters got delayed and sometimes months to be delivered to the right person. That’s when the date in the book were mentioned to show the timeline of it. Overall, if you minus some of the misogynistic and racist remarks, you might find this book incredibly moving and insightful. After all, some of the prose in the book can be touching and heartfelt especially when they discussed about literature and writers. Sure both of them are the product of their time - if we want to be fair