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| Plot Summary of Half A Life |
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"HALF A LIFE by V S NAIPAUL. If you are like the multitudes who have never read a Nobel Laureate, here's the opportunity to change that. A beguiling simple book on the surface, with Naipaul's favorite theme of emigration to two different continents and societies. The book starts out in India, London and in an unnamed country in Portuguese East Africa. We follow the life of Willie Chandran from his infancy till he is forty-one (Half a Life) at which point the book simply ends. The reader goes along as Willie
encounters the world, and gets his sexual experiences.
This is Naipaul's first novel in six years, and is definitely a good way to get introduced to Naipaul's work, maybe before exploring his 'A House for Mr. Biswas' and other books."
R Prasad, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Half A Life |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- thoughtful
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Inside culture (main char)
- Other Asian
Other aspects:
- immigrant story
Culture clash?
- family young v. old guard
- visiting a culture in other country
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Outside culture (society)
- Indian (Ghandi, not Sitting Bull)
If story of urban/rural...
- Big city life
Ethnic/regional/gender life
Yes
Parents/lack of parents problem?
- rebelling against parent's expectations
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Indian Indian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- society
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 4 (a fair amount)
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- India
Africa
Yes
Kind of Africa:
- Black Africa
City?
Yes
City:
- London
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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