LN211 Bookers: A Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipaul

The novel, telling the story of Salim, a merchant in post-colonial mid-20th century Africa, is one of Naipaul's best known works and was widely praised. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1979, and in 1998, the Modern Library ranked A Bend in the River #83 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. A Bend in the River has also been criticized for a perceived defense of European colonialism in Africa.

The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.

— A Bend in the River, opening line