This is a Naipaul gem.

Brevity is the soul of wit. In Naipaul’s case, brevity is the soul of literary genius. In this small book, the Nobel Prize-winning author says so much in so few pages. ‘Half a Life’ is the story of Willie ‘Somerset’ Chandran and the forces that shape his life. Though the anecdotes and wisecracks of Naipaul throughout this book can bring ripples of laughter to the reader’s belly, the undercurrent of this novel is of misery and quiet desperation. The tale of Willie begins in India, travels to England, and then to Africa.

Half A Life

V. S. Naipaul

Paperback

Willie’s unnamed father comes from a lineage of high-class priests and is a courtier of a Maharaja in an unnamed part of India. I am unsure as to Naipaul’s motives for avoiding using names for places and people in this section of the book. Was it his lack of knowledge of India, its culture, and its geography or was he afraid of public outcry? His earlier book ‘An Area of Darkness’ portrayed a dismal India and created more than a stir.

In the spirit of Mahatma’s sacrifice, the senior Chandran marries an unnamed dusky damsel of an unnamed lower caste, a woman he finds repulsive. Fearing the repercussions that would follow from his community and hers, the man seeks sanctuary in a temple, choosing to conveniently take a vow of silence. He even experiments with Brahmacharya. Unfortunately for him, he is no Mahatma and ends up with two children, Willie and Sarojini. This part of the book is Naipaul’s cynical parody of what ‘sacrifice’ means to lesser mortals.

As the story moves from Willie’s father to Willie, Naipaul shifts his narrative style from the first person singular to the third person. Willie is now in England, on a scholarship. He must deal with the conflicts of being born to two castes. He must also cope with the culture shock of being in a new country. Willie tries to blend in by creating a new identity for himself, building a story about his lineage. As he tries to establish himself as a writer, Willie meets a panorama of characters. These include a philandering publisher Roger, a black man Marcus, whose goal is to have a white grandchild, and his well-dressed roommate Percy. After a few sexual experiences, Willie finally falls in love with Anna, a woman from an unnamed African country under Portuguese rule. Meanwhile, Willie’s sister Sarojini marries a German with her father’s blessing. Though her father suspects that the German may already be a married man, the senior Chandran realizes that Sarojini’s only chance at a good life would be away from home.

Willie follows Anna to Africa and lives there as a stranger for 18 years. Once again Naipaul shifts his narrative into the first person singular, describing the African experience from Willie’s perspective. Willie lives on an estate with Anna, again meeting several kinds of people, each trying to live with his or her own insecurities, eccentricities, internal and external battles. Willie is unfaithful to Anna more than a few times. He has an illicit relationship with her best friend. As Willie and Anna slowly move apart, Willie begins to realize that the life he leads is not his own. In this part of the book, Naipaul’s account provides vivid imagery of life on the estates and of the African terrain.

The first part of ‘Half a Life’ is a dark satire on the human condition in India, the caste system, and its inherent idiosyncrasies. The central message of this book is that the whole idea of seeking an identity is utterly ridiculous. Throughout the book, we see several others like Willie fighting a losing battle to establish a sense of self. Naipaul’s narrative and sense of humor make this book a marvelous literary work.