Birth of V. S. Naipaul

V. S. Naipaul was born on 17 August 1932 in Chaguanas. A Trinidadian-born British writer of Indian descent, Naipaul wrote novels and travel books characterized by a cold, precise style and often controversial judgments. His novel A House for Mr Biswas, based partly on his father's life, is regarded as a masterpiece, and he also wrote In a Free State, which won the Booker Prize, and A Bend in the River. His non-fiction, including An Area of Darkness, Among the Believers and Beyond Belief, examined India, Africa and the Islamic world, and drew accusations of prejudice. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001, and he was knighted in 1990.

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