Between father and son : family letters / V.S. Naipaul ; edited by Gillon Aitken.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), 1932-2018.

Contributor:

Aitken, Gillon R.

Gotham Book Mart Collection (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), 1932-2018--Correspondence.

Naipaul, V. S.

Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), 1932-2018--Family.

Naipaul, V. S. (Vidiadhar Surajprasad), 1932-2018.

Authors, Trinidadian--20th century--Family relationships.

Authors, Trinidadian.

Authors, Trinidadian--20th century--Correspondence.

Fathers and sons--Trinidad and Tobago--Trinidad.

Fathers and sons.

Families.

Trinidad and Tobago--Trinidad.

Genre:

Correspondence.

Personal correspondence.

Penn Provenance:

Gotham Book Mart (former owner) (Gotham Book Mart Collection copies 1 & 2)

Physical Description:

296 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First Vintage Books edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Vintage Books, 2001.

Summary:

At seventeen, V. S. Naipaul wanted to "follow no other profession" but writing. Awarded a scholarship by the Trinidadian government, he set out to attend Oxford, where he encountered a vastly different world from the one he yearned to leave behind. Separated from his family by continents, and grappling with depression, financial strain, loneliness, and dislocation, "Vido" bridged the distance with a faithful correspondence that began shortly before the young man's two-week journey to England and ended soon after his father's death four years later.

Here, for the first time, we have the opportunity to read this profoundly moving correspondence, which illuminates with unalloyed candor the relationship between a sacrificing father and his determined son as they encourage each other to persevere with their writing. For though his father's literary aspirations would go unrealized, Naipaul's triumphant career would ultimately vindicate his beloved mentor's legacy.

Contents:

I September 21, 1949

September 22, 1950: Port of Spain to Oxford 1

II October 5, 1950

January 1, 1951: First Term at Oxford 21

III January 1, 1951

April 11, 1951: Lent Term, Easter Vacation 47

IV April 14, 1951

September 13, 1951: Spring Term, Long Vacation 81

V September 20, 1951

January 8, 1952: Michaelmas Term, Christmas Vacation 117

VI January 16, 1952

April 4, 1952: Lent Term, Easter Vacation 139

VII April 21, 1952

September 28, 1952: Spring Term, Long Vacation 169

VIII October 3, 1952

August 8, 1953: Final Year 199

IX August 10, 1953

December 8, 1953: Family Tragedy 245

Postscript: May 3, 1954

June 20, 1957 The Writer 275.

ISBN:

0375707263

9780375707261

OCLC:

46645002