In a Free State

A Novel With Two Supporting Narratives

Paperback, 247 pages

English language

Published June 30, 2002 by Picador.

ISBN:
978-0-330-48705-4
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3 stars (3 reviews)

Winner of the Booker Prize in 1971 this book comprises three novellas, set in three very different countries. The stories are about people surviving as best they can in states with varying levels of political, social and economic freedom.

6 editions

Review of 'In a Free State' on 'GoodReads'

3 stars

Mixed feelings. Naipaul is gifted in articulating a story about diaspora, paranoia and culture in displaced people, but the perceived viewpoint (and the narrative discussion) is foggy and sometimes questionable.

The book has three stories - the first is the strongest, holding itself together with an engaging character growth. The title piece, and the longest, is a magnificently written novel about white 'colonials' in an unnamed African state at a time of political upheaval. While the story is engaging, the context gets lost and the positioning of the central characters never allows for alternative points of view (this may have been intentional, but it seemed clunky).

I would like to read more by Naipaul, to get a better overall view of the author. But for the disassociation of people in a foreign culture I would recommend Doris Lessing's Children of Violence series, which in my opinion covers these themes more …

Review of 'In a free state' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

review just about One out of many, one of the short stories in this book

Very impressive story and kind of familiar. Migration into a totally foreign and new-to-you country and culture is scary, integration is hard... especially if you don't know what is to be expected. As a reader I got a glimpse of this immigrants' journey into his new life. more

Subjects

  • Modern fiction
  • Action & Adventure
  • Fiction

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