I read 10 books by Naipaul over the years and I'm a big fan. Unfortunately this one is by far the weakest. He tries to be funny, in vain.

A comic look at the universal pitfalls of politics, the back room deals, the campaigns, the lobbyists and the fickleness of the candidates and voters. Based in Trinidad, with a diversity of races and religions, this story could easily be transposed to Canada, the USA or many European countries.

Hilarious and all to real. In an age of election fraud claims, this book provides a humorous narrative of all the shenanigans that go into “democracy”.

A hilarious black comedy of ne'er do wells in the vein of A Confederacy of Dunces. I cant say how much cultural inside-baseball you need to get this book, but being Indian American mysel I was laughing more at nuances that I was reading into the work that Naipul may or may not have intended. His strong racial hand is still present here, but I say throw PC to the side for a bit and enjoy this bit of political satire. Hell, its not like this election makes any more sense than the USA in 2004.

A prime demonstration of Sir Vidia's power with a novel permeated with humour. The tripartite Trinidadian society and their surprisingly happy co-existence, superstition and the mess around a democracy in its infancy make this work a gem of Postcolonial Literature. Characters are rich and some are even present in other works such as Pundit Ganesh, from the Mystic Masseur.

If you come from the islands, this book can not be put down.

Part Wodehouse, Part R K Narayanan, This is the best slapstick comedy novel I have ever read!

4.5 rounded, by mathmatic standard, down to 4.

The beginning was slow, but the end was hilarious.

Full review forthcoming at Novel Niche.

I live in an Indian state where Hindus, Muslims and Christians are constantly pitted against each other during election time by various political parties. The multi-cultural society in Naipaul's novel, set in Elvira, a Caribbean island is not too different from the one in my home state. I could completely identify with the machinations and blatant vote bank politics of the "powers that be". In this novel, the leaders are as wretched as the people they attempt to lead.

A lot of people like Naipaul's early novels the best because they were funny and not as bleak as his later work. Naipaul is uncompromising in The Suffrage of Elvira. He is downright cruel in his portrayal of a people who seem to revel in their uninhibited display of moral repugnance and stupidity. This is the society which he literally turned his back on, when he moved to England. He had said that if he stayed there, he would have committed suicide like one of his friends did. It was a society that had no place for a fine man like Naipaul.

Even in this comedic novel, Naipaul's prose is like a poisoned arrow that pierces your heart even though every single character is a total asshole who has no interest in democracy or a just society. But there is not a hint of sympathy or sentimentality (unlike say in Magic Seeds where Willie Chandran looks out of his window in England and contemplates quite sadly about the benignity of a tree). Naipaul once said that he has no interest in the emancipation of humanity and only wants to serve literature.

The ending, when a mob united by stupidity and jealousy, refuses a case of whiskey and instead demands the commissioning of Hindu, Muslim and Christian religious ceremonies was particularly affecting (you would know why if you live in Kerala).

Despite all the hilarity and colorful characters, a very depressing novel for me.

Election is a bitch!

“The people of Elvira have their little funny ways, but I could say one thing for them: you don’t have to bribe them twice.”---Dhaniram

Well, the people of Elvira, a fictional village of the Caribbean island of Trinidad back in the 1950s, certainly did have their ways and a lot of them turn out to be wryly amusing. It’s one of the first elections to be held while the island was still under British rule, but the people—Afro-Caribbeans, Indians divided into Hindu and Muslim, a few “Spanish” probably come over from Venezuela at some point—get right into it, no worries. The voters are divided into those four groups, but there’s always the possibility that a few can be lured to change their opinion by….well….a little cash here….a few favors there….a promise or two. All kinds of intrigue pop up in the community, election workers might even change sides. “Those who are first, may later be last!” (Bob Dylan*—who was not involved, I should add). Yes, well, calculations of voter numbers keep changing right up to the end. Chittaranjan the goldsmith is the rich man of the village, with a beautiful daughter who might escape parental control at any moment, Surajpat Harbans is the Hindu candidate, Baksh, an alcoholic Muslim tailor vows to help him. At first. Baksh’s 18 year old son, Foam, will be Harbans’ campaign manager and he has eyes for Nelly Chittaranjan. Then, there’s Preacher, a rather wild-eyed leader for the African-descended population. Another character, who doesn’t say much, is Tiger, a stray dog hanging on in this world by only a miracle. Maybe he stands for Democracy, which ultimately works out in its own way but does remain alive. Plus there’s a host of other village characters whose opinions are always given forcefully and without regard for where chips may fall. This is one hard fought election and even includes an exploding Jaguar, less than a week old. The characters converse in the local dialect which is not hard to follow and gives a definite local flavor.
This is one of Naipaul’s early masterpieces. I read it way back in 1970, but recently re-read it and enjoyed it all over again.