I once read Beyond Belief by VS Naipaul which left a lasting impression on me. Ever since then I have desired to read more from one of the best authors or our times. Unfortunately distractions and other obligations didn’t allow me pursue my intentions and Naipaul became little more than a distant memory. I agreed with most of Naipaul’s views at the time of reading Beyond Belief but later came to differ on many of his arguments. None the less, I have always revered the author for his work. It seems that lately the 75 year old Naipaul who was once known for his exceptional prose, clarity and sharp observation may have become a bitter and self-centered old man. William Dalyrmple has recently written a scathing review of Naipaul’s new book, Writer’s People. Judging from the concluding paragraph of Dalyrymple’s An Aria of Darkness, Writer’s People is hardly honorific of a writer of Naipaul’s credibility:

“There is a tragedy here. As Philip Roth has so dramatically shown, old age need not mean the end of a great writer’s productivity. Humility, energy and ambition can still spur even the finest writer to attempt to scale ever greater peaks. Naipaul, in contrast, has died as a writer: the more he writes about his calling, the more impotent his pen seems to have become. The wisdom, the warmth, the humour and, above all, the compassion have all gone from the prose; and what we are left with now is only the bitter and desiccated husk of that once lively, warm and surprising writer from the village outside Port of Spain.”

I haven’t read the book myself and after reading this review, I doubt that I will.