S. Naipaul
S. Naipaul
trying situation universal
One must always try to see the truth of a situation - it makes things universal.
world bigger grew
I grew up in a small place and left it when I was quite young and entered the bigger world.
art writing done
Great writing can be done in biography, history, art.
paris intellectual wish
If ever you wish to meet intellectual frauds in quantity, go to Paris.
writing littles narrative
If you write a novel alone you sit and you weave a little narrative. And it's O.K., but it's of no account.
fate squares england
In England I am not English, in India I am not Indian. I am chained to the 1,000 square miles that is Trinidad; but I will evade that fate yet.
trying judgment
Judgment is contained in the act of trying to understand.
grief dirty book
My grief is that the publishing world, the book writing world is an extraordinary shoddy, dirty, dingy world.
editors feminine publishers
My publisher, who was so good as a taster and editor, when she became a writer, lo and behold, it was all this feminine tosh.
biographies autobiography incompleteness
The biography of a writer - or even the autobiography - will always have this incompleteness.
strong writing masters
When I learnt to write I became my own master, I became very strong, and that strength is with me to this very day.
character writing fiction
Whenever I have had to write fiction, I've always had to invent a character who roughly has my background.
needs
Africans need to be kicked, that's the only thing they understand.
eye people needs
I could meet dreadful people and end up seeing the world through their eyes, seeing their frailties, their needs.