Overcrowded Barracoon

by V.S. Naipaul

V.S. Naipul describes his literary predicament as a West-Indian-born Indian writer, living in England, and reflects upon the social aspects of colonialism

286 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 1984

About the author

V. 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.

Reviews

[Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Naipaul is the best Naipaul.

[bonnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

naipaul can write with the best of them, i'll say that first.

next, i have read a select few articles for every lovely little nugget of an idea comes ten to twenty times the amount of acrid ideas that consume, digest, and excrete it. there are numerous self-contradictions, to the point that they toe the line of being commonplace to the human condition and edge into that twilit territory of eternal self-combat. one gets the sense that naipaul is locked in an incredibly fitful dialogue with himself where he tries, and seemingly repeatedly fails, to convince himself of certain perspectives and reconcile himself to others.

the article "power" is particularly full of sneering, and frankly racist, drivel to no end. a lot of sneering and no proffered solutions or preferences that leads the reader into an eddy and abandons them there. here is but one example of the aforementioned:

The small islands of the Caribbean will remain islands, impoverished and unskilled, ringed as now by a cordon sanitaire, their people not needed anywhere. They may get less innocent or less corrupt politicians; they will not get less helpless ones. The island blacks will continue to be dependent on the books, films and goods of others; in this important way they will continue to be the half-made societies of a dependent people, the Third World’s third world. They will forever consume; they will never create. They are without material resources; they will never develop the higher skills. Identity depends in the end on achievement; and achievement here cannot but be small. . . . Nothing was generated locally; dependence became a habit.

as much as there is to say about this passage alone, i am not the kind of person who can say it all in a polite manner, so i will just leave it there and point it out for the incredibly acidic and incorrect sentiment that it is. and i say incorrect as it has been disproved by countless happenings. the territories in question have produced innumerable original and dazzling creations that are appreciated in large and little places. so that's something to put in a pipe and smoke.

such scathing remarks aren't reserved for his homeland, of course. if you've read enough naipaul, or at least heard enough about him, then you know he talks smack about every place under the sun (that he has had the fortune—or misfortune, i suppose—of travelling to).

though i hate to leave unfinished something i've begun, i don't think i can force myself to finish this. i will, however, note a very good idea that i encountered (and remember), that sits in the article "east indian":

Immigrants are people on their own. They cannot be judged by the standards of their older culture. Culture is like language, ever developing. There is no right and wrong, no purity from which there is decline. Usage sanctions everything.

this was so galactic brain of him, he has never been more right.

[Nallasivan V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful set of essays - especially if you are a Naipaul fan and you are looking to read more of his travel stories from the 1960s and 70s

[Michael Vawser]

First edition 1976