In a Free State (Paperback) - V. S. Naipaul

£8.99

Enter your postcode and we'll provide you with your delivery & collection options.

  • Free Delivery on orders over £50*
  • Free Same Day Click & Collect
  • Delivery: In stock
Description & Specifications

This is one of V. S. Naipaul's greatest novels, hard but full of pity. It won the Booker Prize, in its original edition, in 1971.

The central novel from V.S. Naipaul's Booker Prize-winning narrative of displacement, published for the first time in a stand-alone edition.

'In a Free State was conceived in 1969 as a sequence about displacement. There was to be a central novel, set in Africa, with shorter surrounding matter from other places. The shorter pieces from these varied places were intended to throw a universal light on the African material. But then, as the years passed and the world changed, and I felt myself less of an oddity as a writer, I grew to feel that the central novel was muffled and diminished by the surrounding material and I began to think that the novel should be published on its own. This is what, many years after its first publication, my publisher is doing in this edition.' - V. S. Naipaul.

In a Free State is set in Africa, in a place like Uganda or Rwanda, and its two main characters are English. They had once found liberation in Africa. But now Africa is going sour on them. The land is no longer safe, and at a time of tribal conflict they have to make a long drive to the safety of their compound. At the end of this drive - the narrative tight, wonderfully constructed, the formal and precise language always instilled with violence and rage - we know everything about the English characters, the African country, and the Idi Amin-like future awaiting it.

About the Author

V. S. Naipaul was born in Trinidad in 1932. He came to England on a scholarship in 1950. He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. He pursued no other profession.

His novels include A House for Mr Biswas, The Mimic Men, Guerrillas, A Bend in the River, and The Enigma of Arrival. In 1971 he was awarded the Booker Prize for In a Free State. His works of nonfiction, equally acclaimed, include Among the Believers, Beyond Belief, The Masque of Africa, and a trio of books about India: An Area of Darkness, India: A Wounded Civilization and India: A Million Mutinies Now.

In 1990, V. S. Naipaul received a knighthood for services to literature; in 1993, he was the first recipient of the David Cohen British Literature Prize. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001. He lived with his wife Nadira and cat Augustus in Wiltshire, and died in 2018.

Contributor:
V. S. Naipaul
Imprint:
Picador
Publisher:
Pan Macmillan
Release Date:
19 Aug 2011
Number of Pages:
192
Binding:
Paperback / softback
ISBN13:
9780330522908

Delivery

Options to suit you

At Jarrolds we want to ensure you get your order in the most convenient way for you, so we offer..

  • Free standard delivery on most orders over £50*
  • Express and Nominated options, including Sunday delivery from £5.95*
  • Free click and collect from our stores for many items

More about delivery

Help & Advice

Need extra help?

We're always happy to answer any questions or queries you might have, please get in touch using one of the methods below.

  • Live chat
    Monday to Friday (between 9.00am - 5.30pm)
  • Call us - 01603 660 661

View more contact details

Returns

How to return a purchase

At Jarrolds we want to ensure you're delighted with your order so if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase, you can return most items to us in new and unused condition within 30 days of receiving them for a full refund*.  

More about returns