Random House Publications

I first read about A Bend in the River from an interview of the former American President Obama . In that interview he talks about all the books he has read during his term as President and the ones he would recommend. He spoke of this as an important book . Also, the author VS Naipaul, a Nobel Laureate, has the reputation of being " the greatest living writer "(paraphrased from NYTimes). The other occasion that I had heard about this author was when his comments about female writers being inferior to male writers made front page news in The Hindu . His comments were made with pointed reference to Jane Austen, of whom I am a huge fan. Nevertheless I wanted to see for myself what the greatest living author wrote like.  The short version of my verdict on  Bend in the River is : it is quite brilliant. There is no long winded prose, no descriptions of the sights and scenes that make you want to stop reading to take a yawn break. The narrative is so simple and neat that it c...