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deegee24's review
3.0
The best part of this early work by V.S. Naipaul is his rendering of Trinidadian English. It is precise without being distracting. Each of these linked stories deals with a character in an exclusively male circle of friends in a poor district of Port of Spain. The tone is mostly light comedy but with some dark moments. The biggest limitation of the book for me is that Naipaul invites us to feel sympathy for these men, nearly all of whom are habitual domestic abusers of women and children. When women characters do appear, they are relegated to the margins, mainly existing as an obstacle or plot complication. E.g. character X, who used to be fun and carefree, brings home a wife who he beats and who browbeats him in turn until she leaves him for an American soldier. It would have been really interesting to have at least one or two stories narrated from the point of view of one of these wives/girlfriends.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
Several years ago someone at a book club meeting mentioned this book and how much he loved it. It took a few years before I bought it and then a few more years before I finally read it. I'm definitely glad that I did. This slim book is a sort of coming of age tale during the 40's in Trinidad. The life and people of this one street are told through one boys eyes. Their eccentric and colorful way of life masks a sort of sadness that life isn't turning out better. My favorite character throughout the book was Hat with his brand of wisdom.
bookofcinz's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for the first time as part of my literature class and I remember loving all the characters. This is one of my favorite V.S. Naipaul's books. I love a book with amazing characters, the kind that stick with you and that is what you get when you read Miguel Street.
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
finnthehuman217's review against another edition
6/2/09 pg15-From reading these 2 stories, I noticed that the narrator compares the characters Popo and Bogart and says they are very much alike. I agree because Bogart is sort of nice but comes back and is mean, leaves, comes back AGAIN, and he is all nice to the children and the police arrest him. Popo is different, he is a nice guy, a "carpenter" who always likes to talk. One day, his wife runs off with his gardener and he is depressed, he then leaves Miguel Street for a couple of days and it turns out he went to Arima to beat up his gardener. He came back and worked 24/7 to refurnish his house. then he shows up in the paper, apparently he is in jail because all the things he used to clean his house was stolen
charvi_not_just_fiction's review
4.0
I absolutely loved reading about the characters on Miguel Street. Each of them was as interesting as the one before despite the fact that most of them didn't live very interesting lives. It's kind of sad too since most of them had a sad or depressing ending.
I don't really know what it is about this book but it really carved its space in my heart :)
I don't really know what it is about this book but it really carved its space in my heart :)
bookofcinz's review
4.0
I read this book for the first time as part of my literature class and I remember loving all the characters. This is one of my favorite V.S. Naipaul's books. I love a book with amazing characters, the kind that stick with you and that is what you get when you read Miguel Street.
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
Having re-read this book as an adult, specifically as an adult living in Trinidad and Tobago- the country that the book is set, there was something even more special on the second read.
If you are look for an exceptional look into Caribbean life this is a great book to get started!
_rusalka's review against another edition
4.0
I asked Mel for a book set in Trinidad and Tobago, and she mentioned she read this one in school. I was to report back to her if it was any good 20 years later.
This slim, little volume is about a street in Port of Spain (the capital of TTO) and the collection of short stories about the interesting characters and happenings on this street. The stories take place over abut 10 years with people moving in and out of the street, but all of them interacting with our main story teller, a boy growing up from about 6-7 to 16-17 on the street. We see him become a man, viral men become broken old men, and everything in between.
This is one criticism of the book. Women are mentioned and part of stories, sometimes even the supposed protagonist, but all in context of a man though. Which makes sense, if we think in context of WWII Trinidadian society (which still has patriarchal tenancies today), but it did bother me a bit.
There are some hard subjects in this book - domestic violence, poverty, child violence, substance abuse etc. But I felt that these were handled reasonably. Again, the time period explains some of this (although some parts of Trinidad today are extremely poor). The domestic violence by men and women was treated as a normal way of life though. And while that didn't bother me more than usual (what a fucked up sentence to write), it should be noted for others.
I am lucky that we got to spend some time in Trinidad and Port of Spain in 2016 so some of the settings were so incredibly familiar, with people heading down to the Savannah (the large park in Port of Spain) to let off fireworks, or heading to the coastal area of Chaguaramas. I feel like I enjoyed the book more because of that, than I would have if I read it 3 years ago. But there are enough characters and stories in this book that I hope you enjoy it too. So, yup Mel, still good.
This slim, little volume is about a street in Port of Spain (the capital of TTO) and the collection of short stories about the interesting characters and happenings on this street. The stories take place over abut 10 years with people moving in and out of the street, but all of them interacting with our main story teller, a boy growing up from about 6-7 to 16-17 on the street. We see him become a man, viral men become broken old men, and everything in between.
This is one criticism of the book. Women are mentioned and part of stories, sometimes even the supposed protagonist, but all in context of a man though. Which makes sense, if we think in context of WWII Trinidadian society (which still has patriarchal tenancies today), but it did bother me a bit.
There are some hard subjects in this book - domestic violence, poverty, child violence, substance abuse etc. But I felt that these were handled reasonably. Again, the time period explains some of this (although some parts of Trinidad today are extremely poor). The domestic violence by men and women was treated as a normal way of life though. And while that didn't bother me more than usual (what a fucked up sentence to write), it should be noted for others.
I am lucky that we got to spend some time in Trinidad and Port of Spain in 2016 so some of the settings were so incredibly familiar, with people heading down to the Savannah (the large park in Port of Spain) to let off fireworks, or heading to the coastal area of Chaguaramas. I feel like I enjoyed the book more because of that, than I would have if I read it 3 years ago. But there are enough characters and stories in this book that I hope you enjoy it too. So, yup Mel, still good.
vishnu_'s review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
dotorsojak's review
3.0
Naipaul's first written book, though not the first published. A work of connected short stories, highly autobiographical. Great voice here