Naipaul’s unhappy Trinidad

Press, 3 November 1984, Page 22

Naipaul’s unhappy Trinidad

FireUias. The Chip-chip Gatherers. Both by Shiva Naipaul. Penguin, 1984. 415 pp and 320 pp. $11.95 and $10.95 (paperbacks).

(Reviewed by

Tom Weston)

The last few years have seen an upsurge of interest in writers with Indian origins. Salman Rushdie’s winning of the Booker Prize in 1981 may have had something to do with this. Other Indian writers, however, are just as illustrious as Rushdie. V.S. Naipaul is one obvious example. Shiva, his brother, and author of these two books, is another, though less immediate choice. “Fireflies” was his first novel, originally published in 1970. The other was published three years later. Penguin have decided to test the waters again and these reprints are the result. Although Shiva Naipaul now lives in England, he was born in Trinidad where both novels are set. They are told with the conviction of one who knows it only too well. Naipaul’s Trinidad is truly a ghastly place. Its direct physical presence is only sometimes seen, but its effect on the large majority of the characters is

devastating. Decay, failure, selfdeception, disillusion, pain, absurdity, are all words to describe the commonplace, their everyday existence. These people are shown as no better than chickens scratching in the dust for the odd handout. They are the chip-chip gatherers, those who seek that unrewarding shellfish with such persistence. It is a bleak world. I found “Fireflies” mildly depressing, mainly because its message is so unrelenting. The author affords the reader no relief. “The Chip-chip Gatherers” carries the same message but in a less traumatic fashion. The difference between the two novels is hard to pinpoint, but lies in the characterisation. Several characters in the latter work are of considerable stature. For example, Mr Bholai, the meek grocer (“Two pound of salt, halfpound of butter,” his wife taunts), is a character of almost tragic proportions — his one act of rebellion makes for a moving scene. Shiva Naipaul is a very competent writer and story-teller. The plots are complex and tightly arranged. Characterisation is a particularly strong feature and is occasionally outstanding. I recommend “The Chipchip Gatherers” — and “Fireflies” only if you have a strong constitution.