V. Naipaul

Taking its title from the strangely frozen picture by the surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico, The Enigma of Arrival tells the story of a young Indian from the Caribbean arriving in post-imperial England and consciously, over many years, finding himself as a writer. It is the story of a journey, from one place to another, from the British colony of Trinidad to the ancient countryside of England, and from one state of mind to another, and is perhaps V.S. Naipaul’s most autobiographical work. Yet alongside this he weaves a rich and complex web of invention and observation.Finding depth and pathos in the smallest moments – the death of a cottager, the firing of an estate’s gardener – Naipaul also comprehends the bigger picture – watching as the old world is lost to the gradual but permanent changes wrought on the English landscape by the march of ‘progress’.‘Written with the expected beauty of style . . . Instead of diminishing life, Naipaul ennobles it’ Anthony Burgess, The ObserverNow part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.

Moving beyond travelogue, V. S. Naipaul''s The Masque of Africa considers the effects of belief (in indigenous animisms, the foreign religions of Christianity and Islam, the cults of leaders and mythical history) upon the progress of African civilization. Beginning in Uganda, at the centre of the continent, Naipaul’s journey takes in Ghana and Nigeria, the Ivory Coast and Gabon, and ends, as the country does, in South Africa.Focusing upon the theme of belief – though sometimes the political or economical realities are so overwhelming that they have to be taken into account – Naipaul examines the fragile but enduring quality of the old world of magic. To witness the ubiquity of such ancient ritual, to be given some idea of its power, was to be taken far back to the beginning of things. To reach that beginning was the purpose of this book.‘The quality of Naipaul’s writing – simple, concise, engaging – rarely varies . . . Above all, Naipaul’s latest African journey is eyewitness reporting at its best’ TimePart of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.

The Mystic Masseur, V. S. Naipaul’s first published novel set on his native Trinidad, is the story of the rise of Ganesh. From failed primary school teacher and struggling masseur to author, revered mystic and MBE, The Mystic Masseur is a journey equally memorable for its hilarity as its bewildering success. An unforgettable cast of characters witness this meteoric ascent: Ganesh’s father-in-law, Ramlogan, whose shop gave the impression that ‘every morning someone went over everything in it – scales, Ramlogan, and all – with a greased rag’; his aunt, the Great Belcher, with her troubling wind; his wife Leela, and her fondness for putting a punctuation mark after every word. Soon, Ganesh’s small hut is filled with books (1,500, as his wife will attest), and his trousers and shirt disappear to be replaced by more suitable attire for a proper mystic. As ‘The Woman Who Couldn’t Eat’ and ‘Lover Boy’, the man who fell in love with his bicycle, line up to be cured, it looks like the mystic masseur is surely destined for greatness. In one of the author’s finest comic creations we see the immense sensitivity, humour and endlessly inventive imagination that have become the hallmarks of V. S. Naipaul’s genius. Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.

‘This book investigates the Islamic revolution and tries to understand the fundamentalist zeal that has gripped the young in Iran and other Muslim countries . . . He is a modern master.’ – Sunday TimesReissued in the Picador Collection, Among the Believers is V. S. Naipaul’s classic account of his journeys through Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. ‘The believers’ are the Muslims he met on those journeys, young men and women battling to regain the original purity of their faith in the hope of restoring order to a chaotic world. It is a uniquely valuable insight into modern Islam and the comforting simplifications of religious fanaticism.Part of the Picador Collection, a series celebrating fifty years of Picador books and showcasing the best of modern literature.‘His travel writing is perhaps the most important body of work of its kind in the second half of the century.’ - Martin Amis, author of Time''s Arrow and The Zone of Interest

Heart-rending and darkly comic, V.S. Naipaul''s A House for Mr Biswas has been hailed as one of the twentieth century''s finest novels, a classic that evokes a man''s quest for autonomy against the backdrop of postcolonial Trinidad.Mr Biswas has been told since the day of his birth that misfortune will follow him – and so it has. Meaning only to avoid punishment, he causes the death of his father and the dissolution of his family. Wanting simply to flirt with a beautiful woman, he ends up married to her. But in spite of his endless setbacks, Mr Biswas is determined to achieve independence, and so he begins the gruelling struggle to buy a home of his own.Now part of the Picador Collection, a series showcasing the very best of modern literature.