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A House for Mr. Biswas
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
Non-member price: $55.84
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Publisher's Summary
A House for Mr. Biswas, by Nobel and Booker Prize-winning author V. S. Naipaul, is a powerful novel about one man's struggle for identity and belonging. Born into poverty, then trapped in the shackles of charity and gratitude, Mr. Biswas longs for a house he can call his own. He loathes his wife and her wealthy family, upon whom he is dependent. Finding himself a mere accessory on their estate, his constant rebellion is motivated by the one thing that can symbolize his independence. The book is striking in its lush and sensual descriptions of Trinidad and was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005.
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What listeners say about A House for Mr. Biswas
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Liz W.
- 11-12-2017
Thoughtful story, WONDERFULLY narrated
This is a long, funny, sad, sometimes frustrating story about a man who dreams of something better. It's not an easy listen, but well worth the time invested in the end. As always, Sam Dastor brings the story to life with his narration. I could honestly listen to this guy read the phone book. He interprets the author's words beautifully.
13 people found this helpful
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- barbara
- 11-10-2018
One of the best audiobooks ever
This was my first Naipaul book, one which had come recommended, and I was not disappointed. The immersion into the world of Mr. Biswas (who was, I read, a facsimile of Naipaul's father) amounted to 21 hours of bliss for this reader. The details of his life were delivered with wry humor, wit, and a nuanced pathos that left me with compassion, amusement, awe at Naipaul's mastery, and a strong desire to travel to Trinidad. The descriptions of the landscape were rendered with such perfection, I could taste and smell the vegetation and salt spray. The characters were plentiful, full of life, and both vexing and pleasing in their insistence on being real. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. I felt that the narrator was superb, and rendered the accents perfectly, and further, that he enhanced the experience of this book, by adding subtle expressive substance to the wonderful dialogue.
10 people found this helpful
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- Saman
- 11-12-2017
Charming prose. Lovely book.
Naipaul never dissapoints in his narrative. This is a very simple story of a man who lives a fairly, short life on the fringes of poverty and amidst a patriarchal household. Many readers can be put-off by the pure absurdness of this story-line but for me as a Naipaul advocate, this is pure magic.
The protagonist, Mohun Biswas, is a dreadful character who continuously bites the hand that feeds him and wishes for grander things in life. His wishes to escape the chains of the Tulsi clan and buy a house of his own are the center pieces of the story. The novel spans the years of his life: his unhappy and tragic childhood, marriage to Sharma and the expectations of the Tulsis, children, and the continuous machinations of the sister-in-laws and brother-in-laws. Getting beaten and giving a beating is expected in the Tulsi house.
I wanted so badly for Mr. Biswas to succeed and yet, at some junctures, I wanted him to fail. That is the beauty of the story and the book. Remember the first chapter and then you will understand the rest of Mr. Biswas’s life and trials. Loved this book and the narration was pretty good too.
15 people found this helpful
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- Christopher
- 04-01-2019
Performance makes a fatal mistake. No Trini accent
I am a Trinidadian reading an audiobook with characters set in Trinidad about Trinidad from our most famous and celebrated author, and to my surprise no character in the whole book speaks in a Trinidadian accent. Only Indian accents for the Indo-Trinidadians and who knows what kinda accent for the Afro-Trinidadians. It's embarrassingly bad, cringeworthy and disrespectful to Trinidad. A glaring mistake. There are word usage that originated from the Trinidadian accent and are meant for it and it just sounds weird to listen to. (allyuh for all you, use of the word does, like He does do that) And other stuff like that. I'm disappointed
6 people found this helpful
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- Kelly
- 02-11-2018
Mr Biswas is Selfish; VSNaipaul writes beautifully
V S Naipaul took me on a journey through one man's life from start to finish and it was at times a ponderous slog. I didn't like Mr Biswas at all. He was cruel to his wife and children; he was selfish. The place of women and children in this book were hard to take for this modern day, American feminist woman. For the most part the women had no role at all... they were puppets. They were stomped upon and disparaged and had no expressed desire to see things change. Mr. Biswas seemed to stumble through life -- married without making a real choice to do so, becoming a father but seeming incapable of either understanding how that happened or why it mattered. He even bettered his standing with a job that he mostly fell into. There was only one real intent that I could see: to obtain his own house, making the title of this book the most appropriate title of any book, ever. In the Prologue we learn that Mr Biswas marked his own importance entirely by his ability to own his own home and that although he achieved it he also lost it and that when he died, it was "...to have lived and died as one had been born, unnecessary and unaccommodated." And later in the book when Mr Biswas marries wihout receiving a dowry it is said that: This house is like a Republic already." (Part 1. Chapter 3. The Tulsis) And that is why I couldn't enjoy the book... he only sees his family as a trap. He hates his wife for getting pregnant each and every time but takes no responsibility for how it occurred. The house was everything. The family was nothing but a burden. However, the writing is beautiful and I learned a great deal about Trinidad and Tobago as the book made me seek outside information. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.
4 people found this helpful
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- Tona
- 25-01-2018
Humble yet powerful...
This thoughtfully written story of of man's journey to find his place is a reflection of every man struggle. Beautifully constructed, eloquent and playful, it speaks to anyone, regardless of station, nationality, or era, trying to find their place in this world.
4 people found this helpful
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- Liz
- 18-11-2018
Tedious
While recognising the excellence of the writing, and bearing in mind the author's reputation, I still found this book tedious. None of the characters was sympathetic and I just became more exasperated as it went on. I couldn't finish it and so I returned it. Sam Dastor's narration was however, excellent.
3 people found this helpful
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- Frantic Gonzalez
- 12-09-2018
The changes a man goes through
This book took me to an island I didn't even know existed with a cultural background I was not expecting but had the pleasure to discover. Finding one's place on this earth after marrying, having children, and in a third world country is extremely difficult when one must choose between responsibilities and desires. Plus, the fear of being alone or wrong is shown in full light in this novel with constant hilarious complaints. I loved it
3 people found this helpful
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- Brian Hays
- 04-03-2018
Classic Naipaul
Another from one of the great storytellers. The sequence of events is a bit depressing, but it’s impossible to become fully involved with the characters and events. The narrator is one of the best I’ve heard. The dialect is perfectly executed, and the timing of the dialog is good for many laughs. Although I’ve only read it in paper, Naipaul’s “A Bend in the River” is a must read.
7 people found this helpful
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- Bonbon
- 19-09-2018
A modern day classic
One of the top 10 books I’ve ever read. Naipaul’s depth of understanding of human nature, his detailed descriptions, and believable dialogue..makes his characters real and the story alive. Well worth reading. One of the best written books I’ve ever read.
2 people found this helpful
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- NCoops
- 27-08-2019
Audiobook marred by inattention to country context
VS Naipaul's masterpiece set in his birthplace, Trinidad. This audiobook would have benefited from some effort to give it more authenticity . As a Trinidadian listener it was jarring to hear place names pronounced incorrectly. Also, while getting the accent right can be difficult, substituting an Indian accent is not the answer.
3 people found this helpful
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- SingaporeSling
- 13-08-2020
Beautiful book
A very meaningful book and shows remarkable insight and with given that Naipaul was young when he wrote it...
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- Vimal
- 17-03-2020
A really long book
Book was taking to long. I had to buy the Audible to complete it. Well read. You miss the lead character at the end.
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- Lesley
- 18-12-2019
A fascinating read
although the story covers such a limited and small world, it presents a wonderful , humorous study of people and situations . the reader was excellent
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- Jennifer Hawkesworth
- 06-12-2019
One of the great novels of the 20th century.
V. S Naipaul's tragi-comic masterpiece, beautifully read by Sam Dastor. I kept listening again and again and finding new things to love and remember about it. I read it years ago but enjoyed it much more as an audio book.
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- Anonymous User
- 21-03-2019
Full of Life
The oration is absolutely wonderful and changed the book from reading good literature to listening to an outstanding story, Sam Dastor’s voice really brought the characters to life, full of humour and pathos. Highly recommended to all of my friends.
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- RONAN O'CALLAGHAN
- 12-01-2019
Stay with it.
I saw another reviewer commenting to the effect that this is a tediously drawn out account of the minutiae of a life story of a nonentity in an obscure location. I have to confess that there were times in the first third or so of the narrative when I considered not bothering - having begun with the assumption that there would be something more eventful or dramatic than there is. However the characters and their exquisitely described surroundings gradually wormed their way into my consciousness to a point where I began to dread the approaching end of the story - as there would be no more of those so enjoyable sojourns in that time and place. This review does not tell you much about what the book is about but others have done justice to that task. Here I am adding my tuppence worth simply to say I am so glad I stayed with it as it is richly rewarding and satisfying in the end.
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- Crocker
- 15-11-2018
Eventually it ends
A life grinds then ends, unrelenting, it rambles until the author appears to get as bored as the rest of us and ends with a degree of abruptness. I stayed to the bitter end is the best I can say about the content. the narrator did his best with the material provided.
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- TONI SCOTT
- 15-10-2018
a vivid portrayal of Indian life in Trinidad
the narrator's accent was perfect in bringing the story to life. will read more titles
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- Greenfly
- 28-09-2018
Loved this book!
Wow it was so descriptive I was in the room with Mr Biswas, I felt his pain! I didn't want to finish the book it was that good! Great narration as well.
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