In a Free State

By: V. S. Naipaul

Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Neil Shah, Simon Vance

No writer has rendered our boundaryless, postcolonial world more acutely or prophetically than V. S. Naipaul, or given its upheavals such a hauntingly human face. A perfect case in point is this riveting novel, a masterful and stylishly rendered narrative of emigration, dislocation, and dread, accompanied by four supporting narratives.

On a road trip through Africa, two English people - Bobby, a civil servant with a guilty appetite for African boys; and Linda, a supercilious "compound wife" - are driving back to their enclave after a stay in the capital. But in between lies the landscape of an unnamed country whose squalor and ethnic bloodletting suggest Idi Amin's Uganda. And the farther Naipaul's protagonists travel into it, the more they find themselves crossing the line that separates privileged outsiders from horrified victims. Alongside this Conradian tour de force are four incisive portraits of men seeking liberation far from home.

By turns funny and terrifying, sorrowful and unsparing, In a Free State is Naipaul at his best.

©2011 V. S. Naipaul (P)2018 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

DO NOT MISS

An other masterfully written and narrated book.
There are a series of short stories, each completely different and thought provoking.
I became a fan of V.S. Naipaul, thanks to the “included” books, JK

Wonderfully descriptive

A Nobel prize winner. Do I have to say more. The narration is musical and a pleasure to hear.

Masterful

Naipaul's brilliance is in the capturing of moments in the most simplistic manner. In this work the Nobel laureate takes us on a long heart warming ride through moments in different personalities, from diverse free States of perceptions.

Vivid

Naipaul’s writing has always been to me, vivid. With appropriate accents in the narration, the story comes to life. The third story with only 2 characters, is an unending discourse on landscapes and “feelings” that make it palpable and more interesting.

Yes it is three different stories. Don’t try connecting the dots- they are 3 different tastes of the mastery of VS Naipaul.

Gripping poignancy

This is a series of heartbreaking, intimately rendered separate short stories, dealing with the savagery with which the human species can treat one another. This brilliant author has created such vivid characters, that I feel as if I have just had dinner with each of them. It is the thought-provokingly timeless story of the oppressed, the unsung immigrant, the need to be seen and appreciated as a valuable citizen in this shared world. The narrator is simply magnificent.