V.S. Naipaul is one of the best-known Carribean writers ever. His work, which focuses on the human condition, has been widely-read and is still in print today. One of Naipual's most acclaimed novels is A Bend in the River, published in 1979 and called one of the "best novels of the 20th century" by Modern Library in their 1998 list looking back at the novels from the previous century.
A Bend in the River is told from the perspective of Salim, who grew up in a small trading community in Africa. Salim, who has consistently felt like an outsider in his own country, has never fully integrated himself into the community of those around him. To that end, Salim decides to move far away to a town so that he can run a small shop. His journey is difficult and dangerous, but it proves worth it to him in the end. He meets a young woman named Zabeth, who he falls deeply in love with and decides to start a new life with. Their passion quickly fades, and Salim chooses to go to London, where he meets another woman he loves. Their love, too, doesn't last long, and Salim is forced to return to his shop, where he starts making money to escape his country again.
Although A Bend in the River has been largely praised as a masterpiece since its publication, Naipaul's novel has come under fire. Some critics have pointed to Naipaul's (born to reasonably well-to-do British parents) defense of European colonialism in Africa as a problematic aspect of the book but have otherwise applauded the book.
