From the back cover: "Spanning three continents and an entire history of caste, class, exile, and dislocation, Half a Life is a beautifully resonant study of the fraudulent bargains that make up an identity. V.S. Naipaul's protagonist is Willie Chandran, the son of a Brahmin ascetic and the lower-caste woman he married out of ideological spite. At an early age Willie senses the hollowness at the core of his father's self-denial and aspires to something more genuine.
His search takes him to the immigrant and literary bohemias of 1950's London; to a facile, unsatisfying career as a writer; and, finally, to a decaying Portuguese colony in East Africa, where he finds a happiness he will then be compelled to betray. Masterfully orchestrated, at once elegiac and devastating in its portraits of colonial grandeur and pretension, Half a Life represents the pinnacle of Naipaul's career."

I can't really say that I enjoyed this book, but it certainly is powerful. It's about identity, the caste system, and what happens to a country under colonialism. It is also about racism and not belonging, and about unfulfilled hopes and dreams. It's also about family and how it influences our life. It is well written and worth the read. The title says it all.

RELEASE NOTES:

Placed on the OBCZ bookshelf. Released for week #14(author with initial "N") of Never Judge a Book By It's Cover release challenge. Enjoy!