Shiva Naipaul
Encyclopedia
Shiva Naipaul born Shivadhar Srivinasa Naipaul in Port of Spain
, Trinidad and Tobago
, was a Trinidadian and British
novelist and journalist.
Shiva Naipaul was the younger brother of novelist V. S. Naipaul
. He went first to Queen's Royal College
and St Mary's College
in Trinidad, then emigrated to Britain, having won a scholarship to study Chinese at University College, Oxford
. At Oxford, he met and later married Jenny Stuart, with whom he had a son, Tarun.
With Jenny's support, Shiva Naipaul wrote his first novel, Fireflies, and followed it with The Chip-Chip Gatherers
. He then decided to concentrate on journalism
, and wrote two non-fiction works, North of South
and Black & White
, before returning to the novel form in the 1980s with A Hot Country, a departure from his two earlier comic novels set in Trinidad, as well as a collection of fiction and non-fiction, Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces
. Both his fiction and nonfiction were characterized by a starkly pessimistic view of Commonwealth
societies that attacked the post-imperial native hierarchies for their crassness and mimicry of the West, and in turn the banality and diffidence of Western liberalism
.
On the morning of 13 August 1985, at the age of 40, Naipaul had a fatal heart attack while working at his desk. The Spectator Magazine, for whom his wife Jenny had worked as a secretary, and which had published many of his articles, established the since-discontinued Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize.
In his book Sir Vidia's Shadow, Paul Theroux
's memoir of Shiva's older brother, V.S Naipaul, Theroux described Shiva as a 'sot', shrunken by the towering figure of his famous brother, with a penchant for drunken partying and a need to have his meals made for him. Theroux also took issue with Shiva's skills as a writer, particularly as a travel writer
. Recently, Sir Vidia's Shadow has come under attack for its demonstrable inaccuracies.
A radically more positive appreciation of Shiva Naipaul by the journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft
in The Spectator
is backed up by the novelist Martin Amis
, who wrote that Shiva Naipaul was one of those people who caused your heart to lift when he entered the room...in losing him, we have lost thirty years of untranscribed, unvarnished genius
A recent Arena
documentary
on his brother V. S. Naipaul reproduced footage of Shiva from an earlier documentary from the early 1980s, in which Shiva returned to Trinidad to see his mother
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, was a Trinidadian and British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
novelist and journalist.
Shiva Naipaul was the younger brother of novelist V. S. Naipaul
V. S. Naipaul
Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad "V. S." Naipaul, TC is a Nobel prize-winning Indo-Trinidadian-British writer who is known for his novels focusing on the legacy of the British Empire's colonialism...
. He went first to Queen's Royal College
Queen's Royal College
Still regarded as the bastion of secondary school education Queen's Royal College is the oldest secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago, referred to for short as "QRC", or "The College" by past alumni...
and St Mary's College
Saint Mary's College, Trinidad and Tobago
Saint Mary's College is a government-assisted Catholic secondary school situated on Frederick Street in the heart of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The school was established in 1863 with only a handful of students but enrollment today is close to 1200. The school's motto 'Virtus et Scientia'...
in Trinidad, then emigrated to Britain, having won a scholarship to study Chinese at University College, Oxford
University College, Oxford
.University College , is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2009 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £110m...
. At Oxford, he met and later married Jenny Stuart, with whom he had a son, Tarun.
With Jenny's support, Shiva Naipaul wrote his first novel, Fireflies, and followed it with The Chip-Chip Gatherers
The Chip-Chip Gatherers
The Chip-Chip Gatherers is a novel by Shiva Naipaul originally published in 1973 by Penguin Books. It was reprinted in a new edition as a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic in 1997. It is a comic story following a cast of colourful Hindu and Muslim characters of Indian descent in a large village in...
. He then decided to concentrate on journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, and wrote two non-fiction works, North of South
North of South
North of South: An African Journey is a travel book by Shiva Naipaul, originally published by Penguin Books in 1978, and republished as a Penguin Classic in 1997....
and Black & White
Black & White (book)
Black & White is a non-fiction book written by Shiva Naipaul and published by Hamish Hamilton in the U.K. in 1980. It was published with the title Journey to Nowhere: A New World Tragedy in the U.S...
, before returning to the novel form in the 1980s with A Hot Country, a departure from his two earlier comic novels set in Trinidad, as well as a collection of fiction and non-fiction, Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces
Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces
Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces is a collection of Shiva Naipaul's journalism and stories prefaced by a short memoir, published by Hamish Hamilton in 1984....
. Both his fiction and nonfiction were characterized by a starkly pessimistic view of Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
societies that attacked the post-imperial native hierarchies for their crassness and mimicry of the West, and in turn the banality and diffidence of Western liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
.
On the morning of 13 August 1985, at the age of 40, Naipaul had a fatal heart attack while working at his desk. The Spectator Magazine, for whom his wife Jenny had worked as a secretary, and which had published many of his articles, established the since-discontinued Shiva Naipaul Memorial Prize.
In his book Sir Vidia's Shadow, Paul Theroux
Paul Theroux
Paul Edward Theroux is an American travel writer and novelist, whose best known work of travel writing is perhaps The Great Railway Bazaar . He has also published numerous works of fiction, some of which were made into feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his...
's memoir of Shiva's older brother, V.S Naipaul, Theroux described Shiva as a 'sot', shrunken by the towering figure of his famous brother, with a penchant for drunken partying and a need to have his meals made for him. Theroux also took issue with Shiva's skills as a writer, particularly as a travel writer
Travel literature
Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
. Recently, Sir Vidia's Shadow has come under attack for its demonstrable inaccuracies.
A radically more positive appreciation of Shiva Naipaul by the journalist Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Geoffrey Wheatcroft
Geoffrey Albert Wheatcroft is a British journalist and writer.- Education :He was educated at University College School, London, and at New College Oxford, where he read Modern History.- Publishing and journalism :...
in The Spectator
The Spectator
The Spectator is a weekly British magazine first published on 6 July 1828. It is currently owned by David and Frederick Barclay, who also owns The Daily Telegraph. Its principal subject areas are politics and culture...
is backed up by the novelist Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
, who wrote that Shiva Naipaul was one of those people who caused your heart to lift when he entered the room...in losing him, we have lost thirty years of untranscribed, unvarnished genius
A recent Arena
Arena (TV series)
Arena is a British television documentary series, made and broadcast by the BBC. It has run since 1 October 1975, and over five hundred episodes have been made. Arena covers all manner of subjects, from profiles of notable people such as Bob Dylan to the Ford Cortina car...
documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
on his brother V. S. Naipaul reproduced footage of Shiva from an earlier documentary from the early 1980s, in which Shiva returned to Trinidad to see his mother
Works
- Fireflies
- The Chip-Chip GatherersThe Chip-Chip GatherersThe Chip-Chip Gatherers is a novel by Shiva Naipaul originally published in 1973 by Penguin Books. It was reprinted in a new edition as a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic in 1997. It is a comic story following a cast of colourful Hindu and Muslim characters of Indian descent in a large village in...
- North of SouthNorth of SouthNorth of South: An African Journey is a travel book by Shiva Naipaul, originally published by Penguin Books in 1978, and republished as a Penguin Classic in 1997....
(1978) - Black & WhiteBlack & White (book)Black & White is a non-fiction book written by Shiva Naipaul and published by Hamish Hamilton in the U.K. in 1980. It was published with the title Journey to Nowhere: A New World Tragedy in the U.S...
(1980), published in the U.S. as Journey to Nowhere - Love and Death in a Hot CountryLove and Death in a Hot CountryA Hot Country was the last novel to be written by Shiva Naipaul and also his shortest in length. It was published in 1983.Before its publication, he had not written a novel in ten years...
(1983) - Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and PiecesBeyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and PiecesBeyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces is a collection of Shiva Naipaul's journalism and stories prefaced by a short memoir, published by Hamish Hamilton in 1984....
(1984) - An Unfinished JourneyAn Unfinished JourneyAn Unfinished Journey is a posthumous collection of essays by Shiva Naipaul, published by Hamish and Hamilton in 1986.The foreword is written by the author's father-in-law, Douglas Stuart, who creates a short biographical sketch of the author, describing Shiva as a writer who gained in discipline...
(1986). - A Man of Mystery and Other Stories (1995), a selection of stories taken from Beyond the Dragon's Mouth.