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米格尔街
米格尔街生活着一群有脾气、有盼头的小人物：“哲学家”波普，要做一样叫不出名字的东西；“艺术家”摩根，扬言美国国王会来买他的花炮；“诗人”布莱克·华兹华斯，在写一首全世界最伟大的诗；“疯子”曼曼，频频参加议员竞选；“机械天才”巴库，百折不挠地改造一辆辆进口汽车……
他们兴高采烈地，过着一成不变的生活。
他们兴高采烈地，过着一成不变的生活。
199 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1959
280 people are currently reading
5353 people want to read
About the author
V.S. Naipaul
190 books1,795 followersV. S. Naipaul was a British writer of Indo-Trinidadian descent known for his sharp, often controversial explorations of postcolonial societies, identity, and displacement. His works, which include both fiction and nonfiction, often depict themes of exile, cultural alienation, and the lingering effects of colonialism.
He gained early recognition with A House for Mr Biswas, a novel inspired by his father’s struggles in Trinidad. His later works, such as The Mimic Men, In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, cemented his reputation as a masterful and incisive writer. Beyond fiction, his travelogues and essays, including Among the Believers and India: A Million Mutinies Now, reflected his critical perspective on societies in transition.
Naipaul received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for his ability to blend deep observation with literary artistry. While praised for his prose, his often unsparing portrayals of postcolonial nations and controversial statements sparked both admiration and criticism.
He gained early recognition with A House for Mr Biswas, a novel inspired by his father’s struggles in Trinidad. His later works, such as The Mimic Men, In a Free State, and A Bend in the River, cemented his reputation as a masterful and incisive writer. Beyond fiction, his travelogues and essays, including Among the Believers and India: A Million Mutinies Now, reflected his critical perspective on societies in transition.
Naipaul received numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarded for his ability to blend deep observation with literary artistry. While praised for his prose, his often unsparing portrayals of postcolonial nations and controversial statements sparked both admiration and criticism.
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November 10, 2019
This book is not really a novel; it’s a collection of interrelated vignettes or short stories about a dozen or so men in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad during WW II. It’s a short book so each story is 5 to 7 pages or so. The author grew up nearby.
There is humor but these are not pretty stories. Just about all the men beat their wives and children. That is accepted and even expected. There is an exception: one large woman regularly beats her husband. When an ill woman dies, the neighbors blame it on her husband’s beatings, but nothing is done about it. “Is a good thing for a man to beat his woman every now and then, but this man does do it like exercise, man.”
Women are hardly mentioned other than when they are getting beaten. Even the narrator’s own mother is only seen through remarks she makes about neighbors. (The boy’s father is dead.) The boy thinks of a neighbor woman: “George’s wife was never a proper person. I always thought of her just as George’s wife, and that was all. And I always thought, too, that George’s wife was nearly always in the cow-pen.” The men make fun of one woman who has eight children by seven men. One unmarried young woman commits suicide right after she has a baby.
Many of the men drink themselves into stupors with rum when they are not working. Many have been in jail, usually for theft. They sometimes beat one another up. The men are black or of mixed race; some are Hindus.
Much of the conversation is in dialect. It gets annoying at times, but I never felt that I could not understand what was being said in context. Some examples:
“Ha. I mad to break old George tail up, you hear.”
[Said of a boy who wants to become a doctor:] “I bet you when he become doctor and thing he go forget the rest of we. Eh, Elias?”
“Anyway, then we all want become friendly with him. But he don’t want we at all at all.”
Most outsiders would call the neighborhood a slum. But the inhabitants are fine with it. They know of worse parts of town. They are poor but not starving. We see the men through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy (or so) and his good friend, an older man who categorizes each neighbor with a short descriptive phrase: “He is a first-class drinking man.”
So who are these men? We have a carpenter who really remodels stolen furniture. One is a trash scavenger, paid by the city, and he is proud of the cleanliness of his cart. There’s a man who makes fireworks and seems to be a pyromaniac. There’s a tailor, never seen making any clothes, who is arrested for bigamy. After one man’s wife dies, he turns his house into a brothel catering to American servicemen. ‘Mad Man’ spends his days writing words on the street in chalk. Eventually he ties himself to a cross and invites the neighborhood to stone him to death.
There’s a kind of chronology to the stories because the later ones talk about the impact of US serviceman on the locals. One young man becomes infatuated with the Americans and starts dating American women and trying to emulate their dress and even their accents. I did not know that the US had military bases in Trinidad during WW II (when the island was still a British colony). I looked it up and found a book about it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... and a summary of the book:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/...
This was one of the author’s first of what was eventually about 30 books. Naipaul was such a good student that he earned a scholarship to Oxford. While there he started his journalism career working for the BBC. Wiki describes his working on the Miguel Street book: “Sitting in the BBC freelancers' room in the old Langham Hotel, he wrote ‘Bogart,’ the first story of Miguel Street, which was inspired by a neighbor he knew as a child in Port of Spain. Naipaul wrote Miguel Street in five weeks. The New York Times said about the book: ‘The sketches are written lightly, so that tragedy is understated and comedy is overstated, yet the ring of truth always prevails.’
A good read but the subject matter can be upsetting.
Top photo of modern-day Port-of-Spain from loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net
Photo of Port-of-Spain during WW II from 1.bp.blogspot.com
The author from ichef.bbci.co.uk/news...vsnaipaulgett...
There is humor but these are not pretty stories. Just about all the men beat their wives and children. That is accepted and even expected. There is an exception: one large woman regularly beats her husband. When an ill woman dies, the neighbors blame it on her husband’s beatings, but nothing is done about it. “Is a good thing for a man to beat his woman every now and then, but this man does do it like exercise, man.”
Women are hardly mentioned other than when they are getting beaten. Even the narrator’s own mother is only seen through remarks she makes about neighbors. (The boy’s father is dead.) The boy thinks of a neighbor woman: “George’s wife was never a proper person. I always thought of her just as George’s wife, and that was all. And I always thought, too, that George’s wife was nearly always in the cow-pen.” The men make fun of one woman who has eight children by seven men. One unmarried young woman commits suicide right after she has a baby.
Many of the men drink themselves into stupors with rum when they are not working. Many have been in jail, usually for theft. They sometimes beat one another up. The men are black or of mixed race; some are Hindus.
Much of the conversation is in dialect. It gets annoying at times, but I never felt that I could not understand what was being said in context. Some examples:
“Ha. I mad to break old George tail up, you hear.”
[Said of a boy who wants to become a doctor:] “I bet you when he become doctor and thing he go forget the rest of we. Eh, Elias?”
“Anyway, then we all want become friendly with him. But he don’t want we at all at all.”
Most outsiders would call the neighborhood a slum. But the inhabitants are fine with it. They know of worse parts of town. They are poor but not starving. We see the men through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy (or so) and his good friend, an older man who categorizes each neighbor with a short descriptive phrase: “He is a first-class drinking man.”
So who are these men? We have a carpenter who really remodels stolen furniture. One is a trash scavenger, paid by the city, and he is proud of the cleanliness of his cart. There’s a man who makes fireworks and seems to be a pyromaniac. There’s a tailor, never seen making any clothes, who is arrested for bigamy. After one man’s wife dies, he turns his house into a brothel catering to American servicemen. ‘Mad Man’ spends his days writing words on the street in chalk. Eventually he ties himself to a cross and invites the neighborhood to stone him to death.
There’s a kind of chronology to the stories because the later ones talk about the impact of US serviceman on the locals. One young man becomes infatuated with the Americans and starts dating American women and trying to emulate their dress and even their accents. I did not know that the US had military bases in Trinidad during WW II (when the island was still a British colony). I looked it up and found a book about it: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5... and a summary of the book:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5149/...
This was one of the author’s first of what was eventually about 30 books. Naipaul was such a good student that he earned a scholarship to Oxford. While there he started his journalism career working for the BBC. Wiki describes his working on the Miguel Street book: “Sitting in the BBC freelancers' room in the old Langham Hotel, he wrote ‘Bogart,’ the first story of Miguel Street, which was inspired by a neighbor he knew as a child in Port of Spain. Naipaul wrote Miguel Street in five weeks. The New York Times said about the book: ‘The sketches are written lightly, so that tragedy is understated and comedy is overstated, yet the ring of truth always prevails.’
A good read but the subject matter can be upsetting.
Top photo of modern-day Port-of-Spain from loopnewslive.blob.core.windows.net
Photo of Port-of-Spain during WW II from 1.bp.blogspot.com
The author from ichef.bbci.co.uk/news...vsnaipaulgett...
October 2, 2023
وقتی آدم به چیزی بخندد که عمری به خاطرش جنگیده، شما نمیدانید باید به حالش خندید یا گریست. صفحه ۸۴ کتاب
زندگی چیز افتضاحی است. میبینی دردسر از راه میرسد و نمیتوانی هیچ کاری برای جلوگیری از آن بکنی، فقط باید بنشینی و تماشا کنی و انتظار بکشی. صفحه ۱۱۶ کتاب
زندگی چیز افتضاحی است. میبینی دردسر از راه میرسد و نمیتوانی هیچ کاری برای جلوگیری از آن بکنی، فقط باید بنشینی و تماشا کنی و انتظار بکشی. صفحه ۱۱۶ کتاب
May 18, 2023
I read this in 1981 or thereabouts as part of my English Literature O-level exam. It's the only one of the books that we studied which I can remember the slightest thing about, so it must have had something going for it to still be in my head after 40 years.
I remembered it today as the BBC are reporting that only 0.7% of authors studied for the equivalent exam today are from an ethnic background. I guess our teacher back then was ahead of the curve. Sad to see that English schools (where 30% of the pupils are from ethnic backgrounds) appear to have gone backwards in this regard since then.
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I remembered it today as the BBC are reporting that only 0.7% of authors studied for the equivalent exam today are from an ethnic background. I guess our teacher back then was ahead of the curve. Sad to see that English schools (where 30% of the pupils are from ethnic backgrounds) appear to have gone backwards in this regard since then.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
January 18, 2025
Miguel Street, by V.S. Naipaul, captures the essence of life in Trinidad in the 1940s. The colorful cast of characters who inhabit Miguel Street (likely a euphemistic reference to Frederick Street), their often comedic interactions in various dramatic situations, paints a vivid portrait of life in a bustling thoroughfare of Trinidad's capital, Port of Spain. The narrative covers a broad spectrum of the human condition in Trinidad during this formative period, from marriage to infidelity, friendship and betrayal, as well as the politically charged topics of the time - British colonialism and the American military base on the island at Chaguaramas.
Being half-Trinidadian and having recently visited the island in my holiday travels, reading Miguel Street made me feel as if I was still there. The lively, dialect-filled exchanges between the characters is so quintessentially "Trini" that I often found myself chuckling in delight. Naipaul, is a master of character development and scene setting. Like a literary surgeon he knows how to entertain and enthrall readers while precisely dosing the level of detail.
I would highly recommend Miguel Street to anyone seeking to immerse themselves in Trinidadian and Caribbean literature. My only small reservation in making such a recommendation is that some aspects of the novel may be shocking/off-putting to some readers. There are repeated references to domestic violence which was more pervasive and socially acceptable at that time in history. If this could be a trigger for you then perhaps Miguel Street you should consider skipping this one! On a final note, although Naipaul employs dialect Trini in the narrative, sufficient context is given, which allows the story to be accessible to most readers.
Being half-Trinidadian and having recently visited the island in my holiday travels, reading Miguel Street made me feel as if I was still there. The lively, dialect-filled exchanges between the characters is so quintessentially "Trini" that I often found myself chuckling in delight. Naipaul, is a master of character development and scene setting. Like a literary surgeon he knows how to entertain and enthrall readers while precisely dosing the level of detail.
I would highly recommend Miguel Street to anyone seeking to immerse themselves in Trinidadian and Caribbean literature. My only small reservation in making such a recommendation is that some aspects of the novel may be shocking/off-putting to some readers. There are repeated references to domestic violence which was more pervasive and socially acceptable at that time in history. If this could be a trigger for you then perhaps Miguel Street you should consider skipping this one! On a final note, although Naipaul employs dialect Trini in the narrative, sufficient context is given, which allows the story to be accessible to most readers.
December 7, 2016
How beautiful this book is! How simple! How charming!
The Caribbean street filled with lowlifes, with dreamers, with quirky, street-smart or naive characters literally comes to life in Naipaul's beautiful, beautiful prose. It is a panoramic narration - we are introduced to people one by one, a chapter at a time, and by the time we are done reading, we have lived a different, distant life with them. What makes it compulsively readable is not some cheap excuse for a plot but a deep faith in characters. Naipaul said in an interview that any stranger is interesting for the first hour or so. I guess its true because you still haven't spent time enough to identify the usual cliches buried in all of us. And that trick works really well here - we never get bored by anyone coz there's always a nuttier or a weirder in the queue and its all over too soon. One day you stand near a lamppost and make jokes about passing people, and then later, when you are gone, your pals stand around the same post, recounting your legend.
Seemingly, these are separate short stories with a vague thread running through them and connecting them all - an observant eye, always recording, always curious. I loved the writing here. It is deceptively simple. There is no effort to make a point nor there is a display anywhere in the prose to draw attention to itself. There are parts which are poignant and parts that are laugh-out-loud funny. The local dialect is a wonder in itself and it blends well with the narrative, becoming an obvious part of it. And the restraint! I am sure that such control cannot come without total confidence in one's writing. To dwell too long over the fact that he was quite young when he wrote it is to invite worthlessness and self-doubt.
I think I have read the best book by an Indian writer so far. It was a pleasure to meet these characters. Their lives are not devoid of the shades of grey, they swing between joy and sorrow and I am happy to have read the kind of writing that did justice to them, that didn't impose any fabricated meaning on them, didn't try to trap them in any "ism", didn't try to tell us how to feel about them, but just presented them as they were. How that happens is a lesson in structuring and storytelling.
The Caribbean street filled with lowlifes, with dreamers, with quirky, street-smart or naive characters literally comes to life in Naipaul's beautiful, beautiful prose. It is a panoramic narration - we are introduced to people one by one, a chapter at a time, and by the time we are done reading, we have lived a different, distant life with them. What makes it compulsively readable is not some cheap excuse for a plot but a deep faith in characters. Naipaul said in an interview that any stranger is interesting for the first hour or so. I guess its true because you still haven't spent time enough to identify the usual cliches buried in all of us. And that trick works really well here - we never get bored by anyone coz there's always a nuttier or a weirder in the queue and its all over too soon. One day you stand near a lamppost and make jokes about passing people, and then later, when you are gone, your pals stand around the same post, recounting your legend.
Seemingly, these are separate short stories with a vague thread running through them and connecting them all - an observant eye, always recording, always curious. I loved the writing here. It is deceptively simple. There is no effort to make a point nor there is a display anywhere in the prose to draw attention to itself. There are parts which are poignant and parts that are laugh-out-loud funny. The local dialect is a wonder in itself and it blends well with the narrative, becoming an obvious part of it. And the restraint! I am sure that such control cannot come without total confidence in one's writing. To dwell too long over the fact that he was quite young when he wrote it is to invite worthlessness and self-doubt.
I think I have read the best book by an Indian writer so far. It was a pleasure to meet these characters. Their lives are not devoid of the shades of grey, they swing between joy and sorrow and I am happy to have read the kind of writing that did justice to them, that didn't impose any fabricated meaning on them, didn't try to trap them in any "ism", didn't try to tell us how to feel about them, but just presented them as they were. How that happens is a lesson in structuring and storytelling.
March 8, 2021
It's unique--and unique in Naipaul's work, of which I've read a dozen, my favorites including House for Mr Biswas, The Loss of El Dorado, and Among the Believers. Used to teach Miguel Street in community college Freshman English--maybe fifteen years, often twice a year. It never got old to me. My "teaching" was largely aloudreading, including my class who were fearful of the accent. Once in awhile a student had been to Trinidad, would try to recreate some. One or two got it better than I, who hadn't been there. I find it a comic achievement of the highest order, rather like (and unlike) Faulkner's As I Lay Dying. Man-Man's dog is a wonderful creation, roughly equal to Shakespeare's Crab, the clown's dog in Two Gentlemen of Verona.
My wife came to my first class one semester, when I aloudread from "Man-man," who, barking like a dog from a barstool, was thrown out of a bar by the Portuguese bar owner. (Mainly read because two-thirds of my students were Portuguese, in Fall River.) I aloudread a bit, then barked like a dog. I went to the open classroom door-- students thought, to close it-- to step into the hall and bark louder. So other teachers would know what this Ph.D. did in his class. A student in the back of my classroom, sitting next to my wife, said, "Well, I guess I'm not gonna fall asleep in this class." In the story, Man-man goes back to the closed bar twice, once leaving all the doors open, but taking nothing, the next night, "little blobs of excrement were left on the top of every stool, and on top of every table, and at regular intervals along the counter"(40).
I wonder if a film of it is even possible, maybe by a Brazilian film-maker? The humor would be tough to represent visually. The brand-new truck "repaired" by the compulsive tinkerer--lovely. The un-named protagonist of Miguel Street wins the scholarship at Oxford. But on the way, he meets and describes a fascinating array of characters, the central one being the ironist and "older brother" type, Hat. Then, the teacher of Latin, Titus Hoyt. And the poet who has written nothing. How about the crazed Man-Man who has trained his dog to defecate. And the aforesaid tinkerer-mechanic who destroys new cars and trucks, his chapter titled, "The Mechanical Genius." There's the fireworks afficianado whose obsession blows up his house, in the "Pyrotechnicist," which begins with the central point of the book: "A stranger could drive down Miguel Street and just say 'Slum!' because he could see no more. But we, who lived there, saw our street as a world, where everone was quite different from everybody else." (63, Vintage 1984)
I would use the book as the first of five in my course, others including a Shakespeare play, a poetry collection, and a memoir or non-fiction. It really got the class off to a great start. Of course, Naipaul grew into a bit of a zero--dissing women authors, whoring, etc. But if we can forgive politicians, why not geniuses? (less)
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My wife came to my first class one semester, when I aloudread from "Man-man," who, barking like a dog from a barstool, was thrown out of a bar by the Portuguese bar owner. (Mainly read because two-thirds of my students were Portuguese, in Fall River.) I aloudread a bit, then barked like a dog. I went to the open classroom door-- students thought, to close it-- to step into the hall and bark louder. So other teachers would know what this Ph.D. did in his class. A student in the back of my classroom, sitting next to my wife, said, "Well, I guess I'm not gonna fall asleep in this class." In the story, Man-man goes back to the closed bar twice, once leaving all the doors open, but taking nothing, the next night, "little blobs of excrement were left on the top of every stool, and on top of every table, and at regular intervals along the counter"(40).
I wonder if a film of it is even possible, maybe by a Brazilian film-maker? The humor would be tough to represent visually. The brand-new truck "repaired" by the compulsive tinkerer--lovely. The un-named protagonist of Miguel Street wins the scholarship at Oxford. But on the way, he meets and describes a fascinating array of characters, the central one being the ironist and "older brother" type, Hat. Then, the teacher of Latin, Titus Hoyt. And the poet who has written nothing. How about the crazed Man-Man who has trained his dog to defecate. And the aforesaid tinkerer-mechanic who destroys new cars and trucks, his chapter titled, "The Mechanical Genius." There's the fireworks afficianado whose obsession blows up his house, in the "Pyrotechnicist," which begins with the central point of the book: "A stranger could drive down Miguel Street and just say 'Slum!' because he could see no more. But we, who lived there, saw our street as a world, where everone was quite different from everybody else." (63, Vintage 1984)
I would use the book as the first of five in my course, others including a Shakespeare play, a poetry collection, and a memoir or non-fiction. It really got the class off to a great start. Of course, Naipaul grew into a bit of a zero--dissing women authors, whoring, etc. But if we can forgive politicians, why not geniuses? (less)
0 minutes ago · delete
January 28, 2019
A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say “Slum!” because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Man-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; Hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.
You want a book that is earnest and enjoyable with the pace being right quick, quick? - well you came to right place. This be a collection of vignettes through the eyes of a short pants playing at being a man. It's a collection of characters, but it also be a description of a place and time - it paint a picture real good good.
My apologies, I know I just butchered the Trinidad dialect, probably making it sound dumb and clunky, but honestly to my mind that is how it read at first. Like most books that are written in dialect though, with time you catch the rhythm, beat, and patterns, and soon you will find yourself engrossed, not just comprehending the words but hearing the earnest voices. This is the type of writing that transports the reader, using language to introduce unfamiliar culture that can be accomplished in really no other way. This book begs you to get to know the people, while not judging them; to become friendly, but never to fall in love.
This book does some amazing work in a short period. It is a shallow dive, but an enjoyable one. I think before the end you not only see the street our narrator grew up on, but you can also imagine how the appearance changed for our narrator as he aged. The writing and the characters are nothing if not colorful and vivid, but they are also brief and thus somewhat static. I can not help but think that there is also something of a staleness about the entire neighborhood by the end, a loss of hope for most of the inhabitants and yet most of the book is filled with lively activity, even if it isn't always pleasant.
September 8, 2023
اگر آدم غریبهای از خیابان میگل میگذشت، میگفت: چه خرابهای! چون چندان چیزی در آن نمیدید. اما ما که آنجا زندگی میکردیم خیابانمان را دنیایی میدانستیم که در آن هرکس با دیگری فرقهای زیادی داشت. مَن-مَن دیوانه بود، جرج احمق بود، بیگفوت قلدر بود، هت ماجراجو بود، پوپر فیلسوف بود، و مورگن هم لودۀ ما.
کتاب از مجموعه داستانهای به هم پیوستهای تشکیل شده که از زبان راوی نوجوانی بیان میشود و به شرح زندگی آدمهایی می پردازد که در خیابان میگل شهر پرت آو اسپین زندگی میکنند، راوی همچنان که به تدریج بزرگ میشود شخصیتهای اصلی خیابان میگل را معرفی میکند، شخصیتهایی که به هیچ چیز جز خود شباهت ندارند و روال روزمرۀ زندگی آنها، چیزی جز تکرار عادات همیشگی شان نیست. با همهی آمد و شدهایی که در خیابان میگل شاهد آن هستیم، زندگی همچنان در این جمع غریب و اما نزدیک آدمها ادامه دارد، انسانهایی که هریک سرگذشت اندوهباری دارند و نقطه اتصال همگی آنها به هم، بودن و زیستن در خیابان میگل است. هنر نایپل در این اثر این است که با آن هم میشود خندید و هم گریست. لحن صادقانه و ملموس راوی داستان همچون افسونی مخاطب را به درون خود فرو می کشد و غرق در سرگذشت شخصیتهای خیابان میگل میکند. 4.5 نمره من به این اثر دوست داشتنی و خواندنی است.
October 3, 2020
This was a really enjoyable read.
It is not really a novel, more a series of interconnected vignettes, each a small character study of a person or event in the neighbourhood of Miguel Street - in a poor area of Port of Spain in Trinidad. The book is written in some nice subtle use of vernacular - almost patois, not at all challenging or distracting, but for me it really added to the great descriptive writing.
"I know something wrong. Something happen to he."
"You sure this baby for you, and not nobody else? It have some woman making a living this way, you know."
"You better mind you mouth. Otherwise I come up and turn your face with one slap, you hear."
"She look like a drinker sheself."
Each chapter brings a new depth to the neighbourhood, building on previous characters and events, but written in such a way that the chapter stands alone too. Very clever.
I understand from other reviews that although this was Naipaul third novel published, it was written first. If that is the case it is a great example of a excellent first work. Perhaps even more special given its slightly experimental writing technique.
I have read one other Naipaul fiction (Guerillas), and one of his nonfiction, but for me this is better than either.
Somewhere between four and five stars - probably settling at 4.
Recommended reading.
It is not really a novel, more a series of interconnected vignettes, each a small character study of a person or event in the neighbourhood of Miguel Street - in a poor area of Port of Spain in Trinidad. The book is written in some nice subtle use of vernacular - almost patois, not at all challenging or distracting, but for me it really added to the great descriptive writing.
"I know something wrong. Something happen to he."
"You sure this baby for you, and not nobody else? It have some woman making a living this way, you know."
"You better mind you mouth. Otherwise I come up and turn your face with one slap, you hear."
"She look like a drinker sheself."
Each chapter brings a new depth to the neighbourhood, building on previous characters and events, but written in such a way that the chapter stands alone too. Very clever.
I understand from other reviews that although this was Naipaul third novel published, it was written first. If that is the case it is a great example of a excellent first work. Perhaps even more special given its slightly experimental writing technique.
I have read one other Naipaul fiction (Guerillas), and one of his nonfiction, but for me this is better than either.
Somewhere between four and five stars - probably settling at 4.
Recommended reading.
September 17, 2014
هى رواية لكاتب نوبل 2001 , من ترينداد . وبصراحة دى اول مرة أقابل الأدب (التريندادي ) وكانت مقابلة ممتعة .
شئ بديع , فعلا , حاجة كدا بتغيّر لك المزاج الشخصى للأفضل .
ذكريات جميلة سردها الكاتب بطريق مميزة تجبرك على أنك تحب العمل وتحب أسلوبه.
كتاب عبارة عن ذكريات طفل , حاجة كدا قدر الكاتب أنه يجذبك لعالمه من خلالها .
شارع ميجل : هو شارع فى كل وطن , هو الشارع الذى تسكن أنت فيه , بجيرانك ومعارفك وما تربطك بهم من ذكريات قد تكون مؤلمة فى وقتها ولكن لا تنكر أثر السعادة التى تعتريك عندما تتذكرها .
رغم الترجمة فلغة العمل مميزة تدل على عظمتها فى لغتها الام.
شخصيات الرواية ساحرة , كادت أن تبلغ الكمال من فرط روعتها وجمالها , شخصيات حيّة من بين السطور . شخصيات بتفاصيل ستوقن من أنك سبق وقابلتها .
الأحداث مبهجة ومؤلمة فى بعض الأحيان .
العمل فى المجمل ينتمى لذلك النوع العابر للثقافات والمشترك بين كل المجتمعات
قى المجمل عمل ممتاز.
ملحوظة : الرواية صدرت عن الهيئة المصرية تبع سلسلة الجوائز , الاصدار رقم 18 .
شئ بديع , فعلا , حاجة كدا بتغيّر لك المزاج الشخصى للأفضل .
ذكريات جميلة سردها الكاتب بطريق مميزة تجبرك على أنك تحب العمل وتحب أسلوبه.
كتاب عبارة عن ذكريات طفل , حاجة كدا قدر الكاتب أنه يجذبك لعالمه من خلالها .
شارع ميجل : هو شارع فى كل وطن , هو الشارع الذى تسكن أنت فيه , بجيرانك ومعارفك وما تربطك بهم من ذكريات قد تكون مؤلمة فى وقتها ولكن لا تنكر أثر السعادة التى تعتريك عندما تتذكرها .
رغم الترجمة فلغة العمل مميزة تدل على عظمتها فى لغتها الام.
شخصيات الرواية ساحرة , كادت أن تبلغ الكمال من فرط روعتها وجمالها , شخصيات حيّة من بين السطور . شخصيات بتفاصيل ستوقن من أنك سبق وقابلتها .
الأحداث مبهجة ومؤلمة فى بعض الأحيان .
العمل فى المجمل ينتمى لذلك النوع العابر للثقافات والمشترك بين كل المجتمعات
قى المجمل عمل ممتاز.
ملحوظة : الرواية صدرت عن الهيئة المصرية تبع سلسلة الجوائز , الاصدار رقم 18 .
July 11, 2022
I have read Naipaul’s books drenched with fetching travel accounts, especially his African tales. This was my third fiction from the author. Though by the time I am posting my thoughts on this book, I have already read a few more novels and non-fiction by the author. I guess I am getting intimate here. But when I was starting on this book, I was under the impression that it will be yet another sort of travelogue-type book, but it turned out to be a fictitious short story collection. I am using the word travelogue –type, because I don’t know why, every time I read about the brief of his new book, it gives a sort of ‘predisposed globe-trotting feel’ in my mind. This is an inhabited thing since a young age.
But when I ended the book I even fancied I was perhaps reading a novel. The book had been written in a very distinct style. All the stories are though distinct, but in the end, we find that these stories were interconnected. There is a recognizable pattern of relatedness. A common narrator tells the stories of multiple characters in each chapter. All characters are very interesting. If you will read the introduction of each of these characters, there are high chances you will chuckle sometimes and their portrayal in the author’s style is enough to get you to bust a gut. They are laughable. Some of them are as cool as a cucumber.
These characters are flawed and they all live on the same street. 'Bogart' is a unique character you will find in the beginning. 'Popo', the carpenter is another interesting one. 'George' is short and fat and keeps muttering to himself. George briefly runs a brothel of sorts. There was a man called 'Man-man', everybody said he was mad. He had some curious habits. He participated in the election every time and always got 3 votes, one was his own but who were the other two? That question remained for a long. A character named 'Big Foot' was like those dogs, which never bark but look at you through the corner of their eyes. He was big and always silent, his silence scared the people. There is one uncle, 'Uncle Bhakcu', who is considered educated. But he is educated not in the book, but in something else. He is called a 'mechanical genius'.
Men in Miguel Street are considered with high repute if they are adventures. To show their manliness some men take the route of adventure and entertainment to the reader follows. There are a few interesting women characters too in Miguel street, they bring life to the community there. Laura and Miss Hilton are the prominent ones. If I go to the timeline, this was only the third book of Naipaul and written two years later than his first book ‘a mystic masseur'. If I compare it with his first book, the language and both comic sense get better here.
This is a very unique book and I liked the way it has been written. These characters and the comic sense have made this book such an entertaining read, but it also shows the community values and beliefs in the street. I will call this book a 'slapstick humor'. If you are a short story lover, you must try it. I will highly recommend this book to those who have yet not read any fiction by the author, I will say, go with this book first. In my opinion, this is a very charming book with endearing prose.
“Look, boys, it ever strike you that the world not real at all? It ever strike you that we have the only mind in the world and you just thinking up everything else? Like me here, having the only mind in the world, and thinking up you people here, thinking up the war and all the houses and the ships and them in the harbour. That ever cross your mind?”
But when I ended the book I even fancied I was perhaps reading a novel. The book had been written in a very distinct style. All the stories are though distinct, but in the end, we find that these stories were interconnected. There is a recognizable pattern of relatedness. A common narrator tells the stories of multiple characters in each chapter. All characters are very interesting. If you will read the introduction of each of these characters, there are high chances you will chuckle sometimes and their portrayal in the author’s style is enough to get you to bust a gut. They are laughable. Some of them are as cool as a cucumber.
These characters are flawed and they all live on the same street. 'Bogart' is a unique character you will find in the beginning. 'Popo', the carpenter is another interesting one. 'George' is short and fat and keeps muttering to himself. George briefly runs a brothel of sorts. There was a man called 'Man-man', everybody said he was mad. He had some curious habits. He participated in the election every time and always got 3 votes, one was his own but who were the other two? That question remained for a long. A character named 'Big Foot' was like those dogs, which never bark but look at you through the corner of their eyes. He was big and always silent, his silence scared the people. There is one uncle, 'Uncle Bhakcu', who is considered educated. But he is educated not in the book, but in something else. He is called a 'mechanical genius'.
Men in Miguel Street are considered with high repute if they are adventures. To show their manliness some men take the route of adventure and entertainment to the reader follows. There are a few interesting women characters too in Miguel street, they bring life to the community there. Laura and Miss Hilton are the prominent ones. If I go to the timeline, this was only the third book of Naipaul and written two years later than his first book ‘a mystic masseur'. If I compare it with his first book, the language and both comic sense get better here.
This is a very unique book and I liked the way it has been written. These characters and the comic sense have made this book such an entertaining read, but it also shows the community values and beliefs in the street. I will call this book a 'slapstick humor'. If you are a short story lover, you must try it. I will highly recommend this book to those who have yet not read any fiction by the author, I will say, go with this book first. In my opinion, this is a very charming book with endearing prose.
September 27, 2022
فى شارع ميجل فى دولة ترينيداد إبان الحرب العالمية الثانية، يحكى الروائى نايبول عن ما استطاع رؤيته وفهمه من احاديثه ومغامراته مع سكان شارع ميجل، شارع فقير فى دولة فقيرة، وأناس عاديون يعيشون هذه الحياة بتقاليدهم وأصولهم الهندية الى جانب شغف بعضهم بالرجل الأبيض الانجليزى والأمريكى.
حكايات عن قاطنى هذا الشارع المليئ بالذكريات والاحداث، كل له قصته وأحلامه التى ما تلبث أن تنهار .
الرواية عادية وإن كانت مكتوبة بلغة سهلة وحميمية ستعيش مع أبطالها بمشاكلهم وخلافاتهم الزوجية بطموحهم وفخرهم على بعضهم البعض بأشياء لا مجال للفحر بها، من وجهة نظر نايبول الذى كان طفلا آنذاك ثم سفره عند بلوغه الثامنة عشر الى بريطانيا واضعا بهذا حدا لتحول ترينيداد الثقافى والاجتماعى قبل الحرب وبعدها.
الترجمة بديعة واستخدمت الفاظ العربية الغنية لخدمة النص المترجم.
حكايات عن قاطنى هذا الشارع المليئ بالذكريات والاحداث، كل له قصته وأحلامه التى ما تلبث أن تنهار .
الرواية عادية وإن كانت مكتوبة بلغة سهلة وحميمية ستعيش مع أبطالها بمشاكلهم وخلافاتهم الزوجية بطموحهم وفخرهم على بعضهم البعض بأشياء لا مجال للفحر بها، من وجهة نظر نايبول الذى كان طفلا آنذاك ثم سفره عند بلوغه الثامنة عشر الى بريطانيا واضعا بهذا حدا لتحول ترينيداد الثقافى والاجتماعى قبل الحرب وبعدها.
الترجمة بديعة واستخدمت الفاظ العربية الغنية لخدمة النص المترجم.
March 9, 2021
Naipaul's third novel about a bunch of colorful characters living in a street in Port of Spain. This is unlike any other Naipaul I have read so far. I have read his work backwards starting with his later novels and then moving on to the earlier ones (a small write up by Tarun Tejpal inside the book recommends Miguel Street and The Mystic Masseur for first time readers of Naipaul). Miguel Street is not without its share of misery and darkness but it is mostly a hilarious novel tracing the antics of the Indian and West Indian characters who are in each others lives all the time.
Despite the easy air with which the Indian narrator tells the stories of the people in the street, Naipaul lets slip a bit of the misanthropy that would characterize some of his later work, in the second chapter itself - when the Indian narrator complains about a woman in the street who stares at him while he eats. The characters are boisterous, some of them reminded me of Willie Chandran (from Half a Life and Magic Seeds, jumping from one accident to another).
I took a while to get into the book. I didn't really get the humor in the beginning. But I am glad I stuck with it. It does get really hilarious in the middle and the ending is tinged with nostalgia and sadness as the narrator matures and grows out of the people in the street.
Despite the easy air with which the Indian narrator tells the stories of the people in the street, Naipaul lets slip a bit of the misanthropy that would characterize some of his later work, in the second chapter itself - when the Indian narrator complains about a woman in the street who stares at him while he eats. The characters are boisterous, some of them reminded me of Willie Chandran (from Half a Life and Magic Seeds, jumping from one accident to another).
I took a while to get into the book. I didn't really get the humor in the beginning. But I am glad I stuck with it. It does get really hilarious in the middle and the ending is tinged with nostalgia and sadness as the narrator matures and grows out of the people in the street.
October 14, 2020
Audio - 5 + Stars
Story - 4.25 Stars
Story - 4.25 Stars
April 1, 2013
Let no one fool you into thinking that just because this book is set in the beautiful island of Trinidad, that somehow it will pander to the stereotype of the Caribbean as being an idyllic eco-paradise filled with mirth and tranquillity. In fact, VS Naipaul's utterly bleak and ultra-realistic depiction of war-time pre-independence Trinidad could be summed up as hilariously misanthropic at worst and desperately hopeless at best.
I first read this book when I was around seventeen, back when I was temporarily attending school in the Caribbean. It was a book we had to study for our final exams, and oddly enough it has occasionally played on my mind, even six years after initially reading it. The characters in Naipaul's (possibly) semi-autobiographical tale do seem very real, in an albeit pitiful manner. Naipaul perfectly captures the dialogue, the rhythm and atmosphere of Caribbean life and adds his own blend of nihilism. All of the characters fail in their ambitions or just don't have the willpower or brains to drag themselves out of the Trinidadian slums. Naipaul repeatedly reminds us of how fickle, pathetic and at times tragic, the lives of the inhabitants of Miguel Street are. Everyone falls victim to hubris or their own stupidity. The author's nihilism has no time for sympathy.
Whilst one could easily construe this as an assault on the common sense and dignity of Trinidad's poorer communities, perhaps the biggest reason the book had such an effect on me as a teenager was because it so accurately portrayed characters who did seem to have parallels with many of the individuals living in the Caribbean's poor communities. Not necessarily to the same extent as Naipaul's rigid misanthropism, but the depictions of the occasional bleakness and 'stuck in a rut' feeling that pervades many living in the slums of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad are undeniably well written. Miguel Street's main strength is that it is able to present this nihilist tale and tell it so very well. You never lose interest and even with every subsequent character falling short of their elusive glories, you still can't help but turn the page.
Naipaul is a very polarising writer for many. He's either lauded as a masterful author who specialises in realist stories that pull no punches, or condemned as a neo-colonialism hack who only writes stories which 'prove' that those living in post-colonial India, Africa or the Caribbean had it much better under British rule. Maybe it is a little from 'column A' and a little from 'column B'. Whatever the viewpoint, there is no denying that Miguel Street is an amazing book and earns Naipaul the right to consider himself one of the best modern writers.
I first read this book when I was around seventeen, back when I was temporarily attending school in the Caribbean. It was a book we had to study for our final exams, and oddly enough it has occasionally played on my mind, even six years after initially reading it. The characters in Naipaul's (possibly) semi-autobiographical tale do seem very real, in an albeit pitiful manner. Naipaul perfectly captures the dialogue, the rhythm and atmosphere of Caribbean life and adds his own blend of nihilism. All of the characters fail in their ambitions or just don't have the willpower or brains to drag themselves out of the Trinidadian slums. Naipaul repeatedly reminds us of how fickle, pathetic and at times tragic, the lives of the inhabitants of Miguel Street are. Everyone falls victim to hubris or their own stupidity. The author's nihilism has no time for sympathy.
Whilst one could easily construe this as an assault on the common sense and dignity of Trinidad's poorer communities, perhaps the biggest reason the book had such an effect on me as a teenager was because it so accurately portrayed characters who did seem to have parallels with many of the individuals living in the Caribbean's poor communities. Not necessarily to the same extent as Naipaul's rigid misanthropism, but the depictions of the occasional bleakness and 'stuck in a rut' feeling that pervades many living in the slums of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad are undeniably well written. Miguel Street's main strength is that it is able to present this nihilist tale and tell it so very well. You never lose interest and even with every subsequent character falling short of their elusive glories, you still can't help but turn the page.
Naipaul is a very polarising writer for many. He's either lauded as a masterful author who specialises in realist stories that pull no punches, or condemned as a neo-colonialism hack who only writes stories which 'prove' that those living in post-colonial India, Africa or the Caribbean had it much better under British rule. Maybe it is a little from 'column A' and a little from 'column B'. Whatever the viewpoint, there is no denying that Miguel Street is an amazing book and earns Naipaul the right to consider himself one of the best modern writers.
May 4, 2024
Country No 125 on my World Reading Journey - Trinidad and Tobago
The author is a Nobel Laureate. I can undestand why.
The book consists of chapters each describing the unique people of Miguel Street in the Capital of Trinidad - Port of Spain.
The book and its characters were so authentic. I felt that I was IN Trinidad during WWII.
Great book that I highly recommend.
5 stars
The author is a Nobel Laureate. I can undestand why.
The book consists of chapters each describing the unique people of Miguel Street in the Capital of Trinidad - Port of Spain.
The book and its characters were so authentic. I felt that I was IN Trinidad during WWII.
Great book that I highly recommend.
5 stars
December 10, 2019
A sequence of delightful vignettes that document the sometimes hilarious goings on in Miguel street in Port of Spain, Trinidad. There is a single child narrator for all of the stories that are further interconnected by major characters appearing in several of them. The style is brilliant, and I love the local English patois that most of the inhabitants use.
July 24, 2021
شارع ميجل كانت تجربة لطيفة بالنسبالى عشان عرفتني على دولة مكنتش سمعت عنها قبل كدا "ترينداد" اللى - أما بحثت عنها - لقيت صورها جميلة للغاية كأنها حرفيا حتة من الجنة...
الرواية بتحكي عن شخصيات مختلفة من شارع ميجل على لسان ولد كان عايش هناك...
في شارع ميجل هتشوف سائق عربة القمامة المغرور و الشخص اللى بيتعارك و يضرب أهله دايما و النجار اللى شغال طول اليوم في حاجة محدش يعرفها و خبير المفرقعات النارية و الست اللى عندها ١٢ طفل و الشاعر المغمور و اللى بيحب أمريكا و بينسي بلده و البلطجي و المتعلم و غيره و غيره
الرواية بينتلى ازاى الدول و الأهم الناس شبه بعض خصوصا اما تكون ظروفهم متشابهة .. تختلف الاسامي و الأشكال و تتشابه الشخصيات و الطباع و المواقف..
أكتر من مرة و أنا بقرأ أحس إن الرواية تمشي بردو باسم شارع مصرى عادى مع تغيير بسيط مع إنها عن مكان مختلف تماما...
الرواية مقسمة لفصول كل فصل عن شخصية و ده اللى خلانى أقرأها في وقت طويل لأني بكون مندمجة أكتر في الروايات اللى بتعيشني أكتر في المكان بوصفه و وصف الشخصيات و الأحداث في نفس الوقت و ده اللى محصلش هنا بس كان تجربة مختلفة
الترجمة كانت جميلة للغاية..
و بالمناسبة نسخة الهيئة الصادرة عن سلسلة الجوائز مقدمتها بتحكي الرواية كلها تقريبا فالاحسن تتقرأ في الآخر...
أخيرا دي كانت أول قراءة ل ف س نايبول و إن شاء الله مش الاخيرة في لقاء قريب إن شاء الله مع بيت السيد بيسواس اللى اشترتها مؤخرا من المعرض و لسة مبدأتش فيها
الرواية بتحكي عن شخصيات مختلفة من شارع ميجل على لسان ولد كان عايش هناك...
في شارع ميجل هتشوف سائق عربة القمامة المغرور و الشخص اللى بيتعارك و يضرب أهله دايما و النجار اللى شغال طول اليوم في حاجة محدش يعرفها و خبير المفرقعات النارية و الست اللى عندها ١٢ طفل و الشاعر المغمور و اللى بيحب أمريكا و بينسي بلده و البلطجي و المتعلم و غيره و غيره
الرواية بينتلى ازاى الدول و الأهم الناس شبه بعض خصوصا اما تكون ظروفهم متشابهة .. تختلف الاسامي و الأشكال و تتشابه الشخصيات و الطباع و المواقف..
أكتر من مرة و أنا بقرأ أحس إن الرواية تمشي بردو باسم شارع مصرى عادى مع تغيير بسيط مع إنها عن مكان مختلف تماما...
الرواية مقسمة لفصول كل فصل عن شخصية و ده اللى خلانى أقرأها في وقت طويل لأني بكون مندمجة أكتر في الروايات اللى بتعيشني أكتر في المكان بوصفه و وصف الشخصيات و الأحداث في نفس الوقت و ده اللى محصلش هنا بس كان تجربة مختلفة
الترجمة كانت جميلة للغاية..
و بالمناسبة نسخة الهيئة الصادرة عن سلسلة الجوائز مقدمتها بتحكي الرواية كلها تقريبا فالاحسن تتقرأ في الآخر...
أخيرا دي كانت أول قراءة ل ف س نايبول و إن شاء الله مش الاخيرة في لقاء قريب إن شاء الله مع بيت السيد بيسواس اللى اشترتها مؤخرا من المعرض و لسة مبدأتش فيها
April 28, 2012
Miguel Street probably ranks as the most poignant work of art I have ever read, stirring inside of me emotions that no piece of literature has ever had the power of doing. From the narrator's perspective, we are introduced to every character in his vicinity, portraying the diversity and the interaction between them. From banter to jokes, laughs and sorrow, intellectual conversations and heated arguments, this is a community within Trinidad where everything that happens in Miguel Street is nothing but the world for each and every one of the characters. It is a place where we hurt and laugh, but when we leave at the end with the character, tired by the pain and the inability of every character to fulfill his or her dream, it remains place that creates a nostalgia that makes us want to return to those dilapidated buildings and those forgotten roads that the government and the upper class may prefer to ignore as belonging to some slum that has no particular importance whatsoever. For those of us that read Miguel Street, we know better.
April 26, 2023
V.S. Naipaul's Miguel Street is one of the author's earlier books set in Trinidad. It is a delightful read, very different from his later works like Bend of the River and The Enigma of Arrival. The book is essentially a set of interconnected short stories, each one concentrating on a separate character on Miguel Street. And, trust me, they are all characters -- and colorful ones at that.
Naipaul has a light touch in these stories, such that reading the book is like eating candy. It makes me want to read some of his other early works.
Naipaul has a light touch in these stories, such that reading the book is like eating candy. It makes me want to read some of his other early works.
April 17, 2018
I read this book for the first time as part of my literature class and I remember loving all the characters. This is one of my favorite V.S. Naipaul's books. I love a book with amazing characters, the kind that stick with you and that is what you get when you read Miguel Street.
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
September 3, 2019
Reminds me of Cannery Row by Steinbeck. I always love this style of storytelling and the setting was new and familiar to me, so it was a great read. More Naipaul is definitely in the future reading.
June 25, 2023
Vignettes of characters in 1930/1940s Port of Spain, Trinidad. Never stated, but assumed to be a semi-autobiographical work about Naipaul's youth with some flourishes, making it a novel instead of memoir.
Miguel Street's inhabitants are linked together by location, but also by hard knocks, hustling, and pain. Every story contains references to domestic violence, and that was unsettling.
1.5/5*
Miguel Street's inhabitants are linked together by location, but also by hard knocks, hustling, and pain. Every story contains references to domestic violence, and that was unsettling.
1.5/5*
January 26, 2019
خیابان میگل سومین رمانِ نایپل است که در سال 1959 نوشته شده است و برنده جایزه سالانه سامرست موام شد که به نویسندگان جوان انگلیسی زبان تعلق می گرفت. (ز دیگر چهره های سرشناسی که برنده این جایزه شده اند می توان به یان مک ایوون و جولیان بارنز اشاره کرد) نایپل اصالتی هندی دارد و در ترینیداد و توباگو به دنیا آمد. داستانِ خیابان میگل در ترینیداد می گذرد و راوی در هر فصل داستان یکی از اهالی خیابان میگل را روایت می کند. در فصل پایانی خیاط در کوزه می افتد و راوی سراغ خودش می رود. یوسا از علاقه مندان به نایپل است و او را بریتانیایی ترین نویسنده بریتانیا می داند. نایپل در زمان نوشتن خیابان میگل سن و تجربه ادبی کمی داشته است (26 سال) اما به تکنیک داستانی تسلط خوبی دارد و در فضاسازی بومی ترینیداد خیلی خوب عمل می کند.
برای آشنایی با قلم نویسنده بخش ابتدایی فصل 10 کتاب که غریزه مادران نام دارد را در کامنت ها می نویسم.
March 14, 2018
A collection of short stories about growing up in Miguel Street in Trinidad. The narrator is being brought up by a single mum and the stories revolve around the different characters living in the street. There are 17 chapters which talk about Bogart, George, B.Wordsworth which I thought the saddest one about a poet and the loss of his wife. Titus Hoyt the teacher who wants recognition to Hat and his antics.
One common thread I did not like was the continual domestic and child abuse as part of the norm. Of course it was a different era but it still does not make it right. In saying that there are lots of comedic episodes, such as Bhakeu the hopeless mechanic.
One common thread I did not like was the continual domestic and child abuse as part of the norm. Of course it was a different era but it still does not make it right. In saying that there are lots of comedic episodes, such as Bhakeu the hopeless mechanic.
February 13, 2017
-37-
الحمدُ للَّه الشاملِ لطفُه، الكريمِ عطفُه، الغالبِ سلطانُه، الواضحِ برهانُه، المتم نورَه: (وَلَو كرِه الْكافِرُونَ)، المعلي دينه ولو رَغِمَ المنافقون، قال المنجنيق ابن حزم "الطمع أصل كل هم"، أين مني وأين، بيني وبينك بين، أنا محتار من جدوى أيامي، لا أرى سوى أمسي المنصرم، قال النفري "كلّما اتسعت الرؤية.. ضاقت العبارة".. أنا في أزمة وجودية، يقول جبرا إبراهيم جبرا "يبدو أن الهنود كانوا مُحقين عندما قالوا: أن هدف الحياة الأقصى هو الخلاص!"، وقال أبو صقر الأنصاري "متى - وأنا في عنفوان شبيبتي - * أرى في حياتي أسودَ الحظِّ يخضرُّ، إذا اعوجّ لي والظّهرُ كالرمح قائم * فكيفَ أُرجّيهِ إذا احدودبَ الظّهرُ".. قرأت منذ أيام رواية لكاتب نوبلي جديد على عيني هو "ف.س. نايبول" كانت مفاجأة بالنسبة لي، نادرًا ما أقرأ شيئًا مترجمًا في هذه السلاسل المترجمة من الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب فكرته جيدة، الرواية باسم "شارع ميجل" وهي ليست رواية بالمعنى المفهوم من قصة وعقدة وحكاية، لكن الكاتب جعلها رواية بإبداعه الخاص، الكاتب بوجه خاص من ترينيداد وتوباجو، دولة ذات عرقيات مختلفة، سود أفارقة من أيام تجارة الرقيق وآسيويين وهنود وصينيين وبعض الأوروبيين من أيام الاستعمار، جمع الكاتب كل هذه الأجناس المتنافرة في شخصيات عاصرها في شارع ميجل جعلها عنوان لكل فصل من فصول روايته، كل الشخصيات تعاني غرابة في تصرفاتها الحياتية، لكنها شخصيات شعبية بالمعنى الحرفي لرجل الشارع، وجعل الكاتب نفسه الراوي لكل شخصية بملامحها ومواقفها ونكباتها الشخصية، عامةً كل شخصية تعاني خيبة وجودية في حياتها، هذا النمط من الروايات قرأته في بداية حياتي في روايات نجيب محفوظ، وعلى الأخص في روايته "المرايا" و"السراب" و"حديث الصباح والمساء"، عندما جعل نجيب شخصيات طفولته في صورة شخصيات محورية لكل فصل أو باب من أبواب الرواية وتتشابك مصائرهم معًا مع اتساع الروي ودخول مزيد من الأبطال في دوائر بعضهم البعض، لا أعلم من أصل هذا النوع من الروايات، وهل تأثر نجيب بهذا النوع من الحكي في قراءاته للأدب العالمي، عامةً أنا وجدت جو الطرافة حاضرًا بشدة في طريقة كتابة نايبول، جميع أبطال روايته راقوا لي رغم وضاعتهم الاجتماعية وسوء أقدارهم، وأرى أن المترجم رغم بعض الركاكة في بعض العبارات أجاد ترجمة جمل "نايبول" ووصل لما أراد الكاتب أن يقوله في نسخته العربية، المترجم هو د. أحمد هلال يس، سبق أن ذكرت بمراجعة سابقة ملحوظة أني اشتريت الرواية بنصف ثمنها في خصومات معرض الكتاب الأخير، ثمنها الأصلي هو تسعة جنيهات ونصف الجنيه، لو اشتريتها بثمنها الأصلي لم أكن لأخسر الكثير أيضًا رغم أن هناك بعض الأخطاء الإملائية الشائعة أثناء الطباعة طيلة قرائتي الرواية، لكني استمتعت بها وأعتبرها جيدة من منظوري الخاص، قالت إحداهن "وقد يأتي السرور من حيث تأتي المكاره"، وقال جميل شيخو "المثقف المنافق قلم الشيطان!"، إني أبرأ إليك يا ربي أن أكون قلمًا للشيطان، يا إخوتي إني حزين، طلع الصباح فما ابتسمتُ، ولم ينر وجهي الصباح، إني إلى الله آيب، قال مارك شاغال "الحُبّ و الخيال يسيران جنبًا إلى جنب".. أمتلكُ الخيال، لكن تولى عني الحب وقال يَا أَسَفَا، "لله أيام تقضت بكم = ما كان أحلاها و أهناها... مرت فلم يبق لنا بعدها = شيء سوى أن نتمناها".. إلى الله المصير.
الحمدُ للَّه الشاملِ لطفُه، الكريمِ عطفُه، الغالبِ سلطانُه، الواضحِ برهانُه، المتم نورَه: (وَلَو كرِه الْكافِرُونَ)، المعلي دينه ولو رَغِمَ المنافقون، قال المنجنيق ابن حزم "الطمع أصل كل هم"، أين مني وأين، بيني وبينك بين، أنا محتار من جدوى أيامي، لا أرى سوى أمسي المنصرم، قال النفري "كلّما اتسعت الرؤية.. ضاقت العبارة".. أنا في أزمة وجودية، يقول جبرا إبراهيم جبرا "يبدو أن الهنود كانوا مُحقين عندما قالوا: أن هدف الحياة الأقصى هو الخلاص!"، وقال أبو صقر الأنصاري "متى - وأنا في عنفوان شبيبتي - * أرى في حياتي أسودَ الحظِّ يخضرُّ، إذا اعوجّ لي والظّهرُ كالرمح قائم * فكيفَ أُرجّيهِ إذا احدودبَ الظّهرُ".. قرأت منذ أيام رواية لكاتب نوبلي جديد على عيني هو "ف.س. نايبول" كانت مفاجأة بالنسبة لي، نادرًا ما أقرأ شيئًا مترجمًا في هذه السلاسل المترجمة من الهيئة المصرية العامة للكتاب فكرته جيدة، الرواية باسم "شارع ميجل" وهي ليست رواية بالمعنى المفهوم من قصة وعقدة وحكاية، لكن الكاتب جعلها رواية بإبداعه الخاص، الكاتب بوجه خاص من ترينيداد وتوباجو، دولة ذات عرقيات مختلفة، سود أفارقة من أيام تجارة الرقيق وآسيويين وهنود وصينيين وبعض الأوروبيين من أيام الاستعمار، جمع الكاتب كل هذه الأجناس المتنافرة في شخصيات عاصرها في شارع ميجل جعلها عنوان لكل فصل من فصول روايته، كل الشخصيات تعاني غرابة في تصرفاتها الحياتية، لكنها شخصيات شعبية بالمعنى الحرفي لرجل الشارع، وجعل الكاتب نفسه الراوي لكل شخصية بملامحها ومواقفها ونكباتها الشخصية، عامةً كل شخصية تعاني خيبة وجودية في حياتها، هذا النمط من الروايات قرأته في بداية حياتي في روايات نجيب محفوظ، وعلى الأخص في روايته "المرايا" و"السراب" و"حديث الصباح والمساء"، عندما جعل نجيب شخصيات طفولته في صورة شخصيات محورية لكل فصل أو باب من أبواب الرواية وتتشابك مصائرهم معًا مع اتساع الروي ودخول مزيد من الأبطال في دوائر بعضهم البعض، لا أعلم من أصل هذا النوع من الروايات، وهل تأثر نجيب بهذا النوع من الحكي في قراءاته للأدب العالمي، عامةً أنا وجدت جو الطرافة حاضرًا بشدة في طريقة كتابة نايبول، جميع أبطال روايته راقوا لي رغم وضاعتهم الاجتماعية وسوء أقدارهم، وأرى أن المترجم رغم بعض الركاكة في بعض العبارات أجاد ترجمة جمل "نايبول" ووصل لما أراد الكاتب أن يقوله في نسخته العربية، المترجم هو د. أحمد هلال يس، سبق أن ذكرت بمراجعة سابقة ملحوظة أني اشتريت الرواية بنصف ثمنها في خصومات معرض الكتاب الأخير، ثمنها الأصلي هو تسعة جنيهات ونصف الجنيه، لو اشتريتها بثمنها الأصلي لم أكن لأخسر الكثير أيضًا رغم أن هناك بعض الأخطاء الإملائية الشائعة أثناء الطباعة طيلة قرائتي الرواية، لكني استمتعت بها وأعتبرها جيدة من منظوري الخاص، قالت إحداهن "وقد يأتي السرور من حيث تأتي المكاره"، وقال جميل شيخو "المثقف المنافق قلم الشيطان!"، إني أبرأ إليك يا ربي أن أكون قلمًا للشيطان، يا إخوتي إني حزين، طلع الصباح فما ابتسمتُ، ولم ينر وجهي الصباح، إني إلى الله آيب، قال مارك شاغال "الحُبّ و الخيال يسيران جنبًا إلى جنب".. أمتلكُ الخيال، لكن تولى عني الحب وقال يَا أَسَفَا، "لله أيام تقضت بكم = ما كان أحلاها و أهناها... مرت فلم يبق لنا بعدها = شيء سوى أن نتمناها".. إلى الله المصير.
June 2, 2019
Reading this book was like experiencing the pleasure as a child of squishing vibrant finger paints between my fingers and slowly smearing them onto a sheet of white paper. The colors ran together and jumped off of each other and filled the white page with intriguing images. 'Miguel Street' is a masterpiece of character development, colorful imagery, caribbean flavor, and charming story-telling. the short stories are street-smart yet tender, narrated with the wisdom, innocence, and insight of a young boy. A real joy to read!
December 24, 2023
My last reading goal for 2018 - to read a book by V. S. Naipaul. I had difficulties deciding which book to read. On the one hand, I wanted to read something set in the Caribbean with a pinch of his Indian background, on the other hand, I wanted the book to not be too long. So I settled for "Miguel Street" - a type of novel, where each chapter is dedicated to one character. Now I'm not a fan of vignettes, because to me the story can feel quite disjointed. Luckily, V. S. Naipaul has several themes running throughout the book, which integrates the chapters well. We meet characters that I guess were inspired by people V. S. Naipaul grew up with in Trinidad. Most of the men are unique characters with contradictory actions and who professionally are to a large extent failures. Most of them have trouble with women and wives. Unfortunately child-beating was quite common in most families during that time. Problems with women tended to be a catalyst for change. At least there was a thread here going through most stories, but I don't think I will remember most of the characters and most of the stories ended in a way that felt like I didn't understand or was missing something. There's also a theme of the print media and how news travels fast. Most of the characters are perceived differently by society in contrast to who they truly are. Also I found it quite amazing, how almost everybody had to catch a break and leave Miguel Street, though some of them do return. The colloquial language used in the novel added a nice touch.Overall, the book was alright, but I still feel I haven't really read a true novel by V. S. Naipaul yet. I will forget this book probably.
"If a man want something, and he want it really bad, he does get it, but when he get it he don't like it."
"If a man want something, and he want it really bad, he does get it, but when he get it he don't like it."
December 16, 2016
So this is full and final ... It wins the best book of 2016 title for me beating all the others. A perfect example of why we read books. I mean this was so awesome that I took 20 days to finish this 200 page book. Just to spare it for the next day even when yesterday I was about to finish I left 5 last pages in greed to fill the passage for next day.
If a man want something, and he want it really bad he does get it, but when he get it he doesn't like it.
“A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say “Sum!” because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Mam-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.”
I am again going to re-read it. This was so good that I was objecting myself to do not rush, just dip and sip the words.
17 Stories capturing the sky of Miguel street, a carpenter, a pyrotechnics, A Big-Foot kind of scary man who secretly cries, a lady still preaching her husband even after domestic violence ... I do not want to spoil the essence of this one.
Everyone should read this masterpiece. The language is so simple and yet deeply observed. It doesn't feel like reading the book its in being in the book living with the characters.
Thanks Petra X for introducing me this masterpiece :)
If a man want something, and he want it really bad he does get it, but when he get it he doesn't like it.
“A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say “Sum!” because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Mam-man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; hat was an adventurer; Popo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.”
I am again going to re-read it. This was so good that I was objecting myself to do not rush, just dip and sip the words.
17 Stories capturing the sky of Miguel street, a carpenter, a pyrotechnics, A Big-Foot kind of scary man who secretly cries, a lady still preaching her husband even after domestic violence ... I do not want to spoil the essence of this one.
Everyone should read this masterpiece. The language is so simple and yet deeply observed. It doesn't feel like reading the book its in being in the book living with the characters.
Thanks Petra X for introducing me this masterpiece :)
April 24, 2020
وی.اس.نایپل در رمان خیابان میگل ما را به تماشای خیابانی میبرد که نسیم فرحبخش زندگی در آن جاریست.
خیابان میگل افسونی دارد که ما را با خود میبرد
خیابانی پویا و سرزنده سرشار از غمها و شادیها!
صداهای خنده و هیاهوی بچهها در سرتاسر خیابان میپیچد.
قصه آدمهای تنها و غریب و جمع پر شور و نشاط بچههای خیابان میگل!
چه جمع غریبی !
و چه آدمهای عجیبی!
هَت
تیتوس هویت
مورگِن
لورا
اِدوز
اِدوارد
و...
میگل خیابان گریههایی است از ته دل و خندههایی از سر شوق
انگاردر داستانهای کتاب همه چیز را به وضوح میبینیم و گویی نبش خیابان ایستادهایم خیره به افق و در حال تماشای دوباره زندگی!
حس آشنایی دارد این کتاب؛باداستانهایی کوتاه اما به هم پیوسته
روایت نایپل مثل آب، زلال!
مثل آب ، جاری!
مثل آب ، گواراست!
نایپل معدنچی کهنهکاری را میماند که از دل تاریکیها و سیاهی رگههایی از طلا مییابد و نشانمان میدهد رسالت رمان پند و اندرز دادن نیست نشان دادن گوشهای از واقعیت پیرامون ماست.
نایپل در این کار موفق شدهاست.
این کتاب نقطه ضعفهایی هم دارد اما میتوان از آنها چشم پوشید و از خواندن کتاب لذت برد
و به قول سهراب سپهری:
زندگی آبتنی در حوضچه اکنون است
شما را به آبتنی در حوضچه خیابان میگل دعوت میکنم!
پ.ن:
به شما قول میدهم که نام این خیابان همیشه در خاطرتان بماند!!!
خیابان میگل افسونی دارد که ما را با خود میبرد
خیابانی پویا و سرزنده سرشار از غمها و شادیها!
صداهای خنده و هیاهوی بچهها در سرتاسر خیابان میپیچد.
قصه آدمهای تنها و غریب و جمع پر شور و نشاط بچههای خیابان میگل!
چه جمع غریبی !
و چه آدمهای عجیبی!
هَت
تیتوس هویت
مورگِن
لورا
اِدوز
اِدوارد
و...
میگل خیابان گریههایی است از ته دل و خندههایی از سر شوق
انگاردر داستانهای کتاب همه چیز را به وضوح میبینیم و گویی نبش خیابان ایستادهایم خیره به افق و در حال تماشای دوباره زندگی!
حس آشنایی دارد این کتاب؛باداستانهایی کوتاه اما به هم پیوسته
روایت نایپل مثل آب، زلال!
مثل آب ، جاری!
مثل آب ، گواراست!
نایپل معدنچی کهنهکاری را میماند که از دل تاریکیها و سیاهی رگههایی از طلا مییابد و نشانمان میدهد رسالت رمان پند و اندرز دادن نیست نشان دادن گوشهای از واقعیت پیرامون ماست.
نایپل در این کار موفق شدهاست.
این کتاب نقطه ضعفهایی هم دارد اما میتوان از آنها چشم پوشید و از خواندن کتاب لذت برد
و به قول سهراب سپهری:
زندگی آبتنی در حوضچه اکنون است
شما را به آبتنی در حوضچه خیابان میگل دعوت میکنم!
پ.ن:
به شما قول میدهم که نام این خیابان همیشه در خاطرتان بماند!!!
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