A House for Mr Biswas: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 24: | Line 24: | ||
==Plot== |
==Plot== |
||
Mohun Biswas (Mr. Biswas) is born in rural Trinidad to parents of Indian origin. His birth is considered inauspicious based on details of the labor and |
Mohun Biswas (Mr. Biswas) is born in rural Trinidad to parents of Indian origin. His birth is considered inauspicious based on details of the labor and a [[pandit]] prophesizes the newly born Mr. Biswas will bring about the death of his father. A few years later, his father drowns in an accident which Mohun is blamed for. This leads to Mr. Biswas, his 2 elder brothers, elder sister, and impoverished mother, Bipti, to take refuge with Bipti's sister and her wealthy husband, Tara and Ajodha. |
||
Mr. Biswas is sent to live with, and train to become, a pundit, but is cast out on bad terms. Ajodha then puts him in the care of his alcoholic and abusive brother Bhandat which also comes to a bad result. Finally, Mr. Biswas now becoming a young man decides to set out to make his own fortune. He encounters a friend from his days of attending school who helps him get into the business of sign making. While on the job, Mr. Biswas attempts to romance a client's daughter and his advances are misinterpreted as a wedding proposal. He is drawn into a marriage which he does not have the nerve to stop and becomes a member of the Tulsi household. |
Mr. Biswas is sent to live with, and train to become, a pundit, but is cast out on bad terms. Ajodha then puts him in the care of his alcoholic and abusive brother Bhandat which also comes to a bad result. Finally, Mr. Biswas now becoming a young man decides to set out to make his own fortune. He encounters a friend from his days of attending school who helps him get into the business of sign making. While on the job, Mr. Biswas attempts to romance a client's daughter and his advances are misinterpreted as a wedding proposal. He is drawn into a marriage which he does not have the nerve to stop and becomes a member of the Tulsi household. |
||
Revision as of 01:22, 13 October 2008
| Author | V. S. Naipaul |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Contemporary fiction |
| Publisher | Vintage (publisher) |
Publication date | March 13, 2001 (Reissue edition) |
| Publication place | Trinidad |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 576 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-375-70716-6 Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character |
A House for Mr. Biswas is a 1961 novel by V. S. Naipaul, significant as Naipaul's first work to achieve acclaim worldwide. It is the story of Mr Mohun Biswas, an Indo-Trinidadian who continually strives for success and mostly fails, who marries into the Tulsi family only to find himself dominated by it, and who finally sets the goal of owning his own house. Drawing some elements from the life of Naipaul's father, the work is primarily a sharply-drawn look at life in a fledgling postcolonial world.
Plot
Mohun Biswas (Mr. Biswas) is born in rural Trinidad to parents of Indian origin. His birth is considered inauspicious based on details of the labor and a pandit prophesizes the newly born Mr. Biswas will bring about the death of his father. A few years later, his father drowns in an accident which Mohun is blamed for. This leads to Mr. Biswas, his 2 elder brothers, elder sister, and impoverished mother, Bipti, to take refuge with Bipti's sister and her wealthy husband, Tara and Ajodha.
Mr. Biswas is sent to live with, and train to become, a pundit, but is cast out on bad terms. Ajodha then puts him in the care of his alcoholic and abusive brother Bhandat which also comes to a bad result. Finally, Mr. Biswas now becoming a young man decides to set out to make his own fortune. He encounters a friend from his days of attending school who helps him get into the business of sign making. While on the job, Mr. Biswas attempts to romance a client's daughter and his advances are misinterpreted as a wedding proposal. He is drawn into a marriage which he does not have the nerve to stop and becomes a member of the Tulsi household.
With the Tulsis, Mr. Biswas becomes very unhappy with his wife Shama and her overbearing family. He is usually at odds with the Tulsis and his struggle for economic independence from the oppressive household drives the plot. Despite his poor education, Mr. Biswas becomes a journalist, has four children with Shama, and attempts (more than once with varying levels of success) to build a house that he can call his own. He becomes obsessed with the notion of owning his own house and it becomes a symbol of his independence and merit.
Significance
This novel is generally regarded as Naipaul's most significant work and is credited with launching him into international fame and renown. The prose is often cited as some of the best writing in contemporary English studies and cemented Naipaul's reputation as one of the finest writers in the language.
Time Magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.[1]
Musical
The novel was later adapted as a stage musical, with compositions by Monty Norman. One of the songs written for the play, "Good Sign, Bad Sign", was later rewritten as "The James Bond Theme", according to the documentary Inside Dr. No. A two-part radio dramatisation, featuring Rudolph Walker, Nitin Ganatra, Nina Wadia, and Angela Wynter ran on BBC Radio Four on March 26 and April 2, 2006.
Editions
- Penguin Books (Twentieth-Century Classics), with introduction by Ian Buruma, 1993 (paperback) ISBN 0-14-018604-2
- Everyman's Library, 1995 (hardback) ISBN 0-679-44458-0
- Vintage Books USA, 2001 (paperback) ISBN 0-375-70716-6