WRITER'S PEOPLE, A

V.S.Naipaulhasalwaysfacedthechallengesof"fittingonecivilizationtoanother."InAWriter'sPeople,hetakesusintothisprocessofcreativeandintellectualassimilation,whichhasshapedbothhiswritingandhislife.Naipauldiscussesthewriterstowhomhewasexposedearlyon—DerekWalcott,GustaveFlaubert,andhisfather,amongthem—andhisfirstencounterswithliteraryculture.HeilluminatesthewaysinwhichthewritingsofGandhi,Nehru,andotherIndianwritersbothrevealandconcealtheauthorsthemselvesandtheirnation.Andhebringsthesamescrutinytobearonhisownlife:hisearlyyearsinTrinidad;theemptyspacesinhisfamilyhistory;hisever-evolvingreactionstothemorecomplicatedIndiahewouldencounterforthefirsttimeatagethirty.