Black and White

by Shiva Naipaul

In November 1978 the world was shocked by reports from Guyana of the mass suicides of the members of the People's Temple and their leader, Jim Jones. Two weeks later, Shiva Naipaul arrived in Jonestown to investigate the roots of that tragedy. But BLACK AND WHITE is far more than a journalistic account of a horrifying event. It is an examination by one of our major writers of the corrupt and corrupting ideologies that enabled the People's Templeto flourish. Drawing on interviews, documents and his own perceptive observations, Naipaul traces the ideas generated in California in the '60s in the white radical and Black Power movements and their evolution in the '70s into the preoccupation with 'self-realisation', ecology and 'life-style'. And he brings the eye of a brilliant novelist to one of the most blood-chilling occurrences of recent years. 'Mr Naipaul gives a superb description of this atmosphere... unforgettable' NEW STANDARD' A grim and funny book' THE TIMES

Genres: Nonfiction, History

279 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 1981

About the author

Shiva Naipaul was a Trinidadian-born British novelist and journalist, known for his incisive fiction and travel writing. The younger brother of V. S. Naipaul, he studied at University College, Oxford, before publishing his debut novel, Fireflies (1970), which won the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. He followed with The Chip-Chip Gatherers (1973) before turning to non-fiction with North of South (1978) and Black & White (1980), exploring postcolonial societies. His final novel, A Hot Country (1983), marked a shift in his literary style. Despite mixed critical reception during his lifetime, his work has since been reassessed for its sharp prose and unique perspective.

Reviews

[Jason Das · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my very favorite books. Have read it several times over the last 30 years and should read it again fresh before I post a review.

[Tom Buchanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

He's as much of a little sourpuss as his brother.

[Cory Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

There's a great thesis throughout: that left-wing agitation in the Americas results from a colonial and provincial tendency towards Messianic thinking. That individuals can change the world is taken as a given, and mass hysterical narcissism arises—whether in a cult setting (Jonestown) or in political protest (Berkeley during the 1960s).

The main and irritating problem with this book is that like a grumpy racist grandpa Shiva Naipaul constantly digresses to talking about race: quite literally stating that black people and white people are almost separate species (like the divergent species of humankind from HG Wells' The Time Traveller).

As a result, a lot of his great points are rendered facile. Black people are, in his words, variously violent, stupid, illiterate, ugly, slaves... and so it goes on. The white college students are misguided in trying to solve this ever-present racial divide.

In other words, it's often reduced to Clash of Civilisations or The Camp of the Saints style racism. Which is a shame because if the author could have had a little more empathy for his subjects (who are by the way constantly irritated by his rudeness and Oxbridge arrogance) he would have been able to weave his Messiah theory into something greater.

Shiva clearly hated black people.