For the Chinese, the name V. Sue Naipaul may be a bit unfamiliar.
He is a genius, there is no doubt about it.
Naipaul was definitely a prolific writer. He wrote as many as 30 to 40 novels, collections of short stories, travel notes, and collections of essays in his lifetime, and he was proficient in all kinds of literary styles. He even won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001 for his unparalleled travel notes, which is unique in the 114-year history of the Nobel Prize.
He is also a complete villain in life, no one needs to doubt this.
Naipaul himself admitted that his extramarital affairs, prostitution and abuse ruined his first wife's life. ——"It can be said that I killed her." This is what he personally admitted in his autobiography.
Naipaul also personally admitted that his wife's death from cancer was mostly related to his long-term abuse. He said this without any inhibitions and seemed to have no regrets. Naipaul once bluntly told his wife that he was infatuated with an Argentine woman. Two months after his wife's death, Naipaul remarried. But the second wife was not his Argentinian mistress, and he found a new love.
If the characteristics of a scumbag in life can be ignored by the majority of male compatriots, then his racial discrimination, sexism, and violent tendencies make him even more controversial.
"For Africans, you have to kick them with your feet, because this is the only thing they can understand." Naipaul said of Africans. Although he is of Indian descent, Naipaul never shows mercy to Indians in his writings.
"Women's writing is incompetent", "sentimentality and narrow world view", Naipaul believes that no female writer from ancient times to the present can compare with him.
Naipaul was also selfish, stingy and easily excited. His Argentinian mistress became pregnant by him three times, but she was only able to have three abortions. Naipaul also beat her until her nose was bruised and her face was swollen, leaving her unable to go out.
What’s even more outrageous is that Naipaul’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech was - Thanks to the prostitutes. Because of the prostitute, Naipaul did not have to spend time pursuing other women. Naipaul regarded pursuing women as giving up his career.
So, let us see how this "villain" won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Naipaul was born in the Caribbean island country of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad was a British colony at the time). He is a descendant of Indian immigrants, and his ancestors were indentured to British India. labor. Although his family belongs to the Brahmin caste (Brahmins are responsible for priests in the Hindu caste system), his father is not religious and is keen on English literature. It was under the influence of his father that Naipaul was full of yearning for British culture.
After graduating from Oxford University, Naipaul settled in London and began his literary career. He won the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1962, the Booker Prize in 1971, the Jerusalem Literature Prize in 1983, the Nonino International Literary Prize in Italy in 1993, and finally the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.
There are indeed many outliers among the Nobel Prize winners in literature (for example, historian Monson, philosophers Euken, Bergson, Russell, British Prime Minister Churchill, musician Bob Dylan ), but writers generally win awards for their novels, poems, and plays. Naipaul is really the only one who can win a Nobel Prize for his travel notes. I’m not saying that Naipaul’s novels aren’t great (in fact they are quite good), but his travel writing is great. His non-fiction works are unprecedented and unprecedented.
"Naipaul's work combines insightful narrative with unconventional exploration, and is a driving force for people to explore the truth from suppressed history." ——This was the year Nobel Prize for Literature award speech.
I don’t know exactly what “exploration not controlled by the world” is. I really felt the "insightful narrative" in Naipaul's travel notes. The three words "insight" are the most profound and pertinent evaluation of Naipaul's works. It can be said that after reading Naipaul's book, my originally vague and ambiguous views and conclusions on certain things suddenly became as clear as a sudden enlightenment.
For example, take us Shanghainese. Shanghai is a fast-paced and stressful city. Shanghainese do not have much quality of life to speak of, especially the old Shanghainese living in "old and small" houses in the city center. But most old Shanghainese are still unwilling to sell their 40- to 50-square-meter old houses in the city center and live in the suburbs in exchange for a 100-square-meter elevator room.
As someone who grew up in Shanghai, I have long been used to it. It is more convenient to travel and shop in the city center; after living for decades, it will be uncomfortable to move to the suburbs; if relatives and friends are in the city, it will be inconvenient to move to the suburbs; it will be inconvenient for children to study if the work is far away... You can hear There are countless reasons like this.
Of course, these reasons are correct and are facts. But this is not the essence.
After reading Naipaul's "The Turn of the South", I understood: The reason why old Shanghainese are willing to live in shabby huts in the city center is because for the poor Shanghainese at the bottom, they have little ability. Being able to live in the center of Shanghai is the only way for them to confirm their identity, and it is also their only remaining dignity.
As Naipaul tells us in his book: For poor white people in the American South, race is their identity. There are many ways for rich people to achieve self-esteem, but the self-esteem of poor white people only comes from his white blood. This is the fundamental reason why white Americans in the South hate black people more than white people in the North.
Genius, absolute genius. Naipaul was not only a genius, but also knowledgeable and knowledgeable. From his series of non-fiction works such as "The Indian Trilogy", "The American Trilogy", "The Nation of Believers", "Our Universal Civilization", etc., we can see his deep understanding of Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Even Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, etc. all have considerable understanding.
Don’t expect Naipaul to say anything nice. Naipaul’s critical literature can be described as vitriolic and extremely satirical. Naipaul went from criticizing to worrying about half of his motherland, and then from worrying to helpless. No one could be as mean as Naipaul. This is Naipaul, who is critical of every civilization.
So, I fell in love with this "villain". Naipaul became my spiritual mentor.
I also like traveling. Traveling, reading, and writing (I dare not call it writing at my level) are the goals I have pursued throughout my life. I will never waver on this. I always tell myself that when I write travel notes, I have to write them like Naipaul.
In 2018, Naipaul passed away suddenly in London. Without the idol, I can no longer listen to the master's teachings. I hope I can have Naipaul’s ability to perceive China and the world with “intelligence and inner strength”.