Book Review: V.S. Naipaul: A House For Mr. BiswasA House For Mr. Biswas isn't one of my usual novels. Its a story of Mohun Biswas from his birth til his death and his quest to better himself and find a household of his very own. Its a long journey and very seldom do things go right for Mohun.
He was born with a sneeze that precedes doom and a sixth finger that a pundit said would bring nothing but trouble and perhaps that is so. His childhood is full of tragedy including the drowning of his father in a search for Mohun, who was hiding in his room because he had lost a calf down by the water.
He goes through a series of unsuccessful apprenticeships before he becomes a sign painter and through that job he acquires his wife and the rest of the Tolsi family. His wife's family is a bullying lot and none of them really hit it off with Mohun and that's where the story gets interesting.
Through most of his life, Mohun battles his in-laws in every way possible, doing his best not to rely on jobs given him by Seth, his wife's uncle and even when he does take jobs from him nothing goes right, from poor business decisions when he was a shop keeper to the madness that set in when he worked in the fields. Poor Mohun.
Its hard not to feel pity for him, but the truth of the matter is, he's every man. He makes mistakes, he fights with his wife and in-laws, he longs to be a better, smarter man.
This book is not for everyone. It really requires time and a willingness to understand the culture of Trinidad in the early part of the 20th century. It took me 4 days to read it, and I'm glad I did.
This book is a keeper.
I shared this review at an LJ community and on my Goodreads profile
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