Novel by V.S. Naipaul, published in 1979. Reminiscent
of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, A
Bend in the River chronicles both an internal journey and
a physical trek into the heart of Africa as it explores the themes
of personal exile and political and individual corruption. It
expresses Naipaul's skepticism about the ability of newly decolonized
nations to forge independent and politically viable identities.
The narrator, Salim, a Muslim Indian merchant, opens a store in
a sleepy small town at a bend in the river (ostensibly the Congo
River). The town's inhabitants include a Belgian priest, a witch
and her son Ferdinand, and a white intellectual named Raymond
and his elegant wife Yvette. The president of the new country
is a demagogue called the Big Man who hires Raymond as his speechwriter.
Salim loses control of his store to the commercially inexperienced
Citizen Theotime, who hires Salim to manage it. Gradually the
town's veneer of civilization cracks, and chaos and corruption
reign.
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