Book Review: Naipaul’s THE MASQUE OF AFRICA - Glimpses of African belief

[Cornelius Hamelberg]

Poor Sir Vidiadhar has been almost universally condemned in this
forum, all along the same lines

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/the_tls/article7167342.ece

[kenneth harrow]

as the superior man, the advocate for the superior civilization, the
figure of naipaul represents all that is worst in colonial thought.
his pity for kittens matches his disdain for people with dark skins,
people who do not kowtow to his sense of privilege being lauded in the west.
i hate broadsides against the west that are thoughtless or unsubtle.
but, dear cornelius, what is there to forgive in this naipaul?? he
views the world from a tower of privilege and power, not his
personally, but that of a certain england, a certain europe, a certain west.
we have seen this all our lives. why would we forgive it if it marks
the perspective of a writer, no matter what his talent?? hitler had
great architects and filmmakers working for him; did their talent
excuse their politics? i cannot fathom an exegesis of this man's work
that blindly ignores the elephant in the room, his fundamental racism.
and it was there in biswas, from the start. not something that developed later.
ken

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Kenneth W. Harrow
Distinguished Professor of English
Michigan State University
har...@msu.edu
517 803-8839
fax 517 353 3755