A profound novel of cultural displacement, The Mimic Men masterfully evokes a colonial man’s experience in a postcolonial world.
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Feb 08, 2012
بعض الروايات توحي بالغثيان تماما ً كهذه الرواية التي رغم كمية السرد العالية فيها من الحميمية ما يسبب الغضب و القيء و الطمأنينة ، أجمل الكتب ما يجعل تقع في حيرة حوله ، لا تستطيع تحديد شعورك تجاهه ، يجعلك معلقا ً بين الحب و الكراهية ، كل مرحلة قراءة أو كل خطوة من القراءة في هذا الكتاب تهديك صفة ً جديدة ًعن العمل ؛ جميل ، روحاني ، ساذج ، بغيض إلخ إلخ .
بالرغم من هذا كله شعرية الرواية نادرة جدا ً و متعبة أيضا ، ربما على الإنسان أن يكتفي بقراءة صفحة واحدة أو 5 صفحات على الأكثر ، فهي مميتة في الن More...
بالرغم من هذا كله شعرية الرواية نادرة جدا ً و متعبة أيضا ، ربما على الإنسان أن يكتفي بقراءة صفحة واحدة أو 5 صفحات على الأكثر ، فهي مميتة في الن More...
Oct 24, 2009
Mashael
rated it: 
في أماكنهم البعيدة المعزولة يشعر الجميع بأنهم أخف من الريشة حيث لا قيمة حقيقة للأشياء في مواجهة الكم الهائل من الإنتهاك الذي يشعر به أبناء المناطق المستعمرة , في إزابلا تلك القطعة الملاقاة على رقعة الزرقة الواسعة حيث الأسرار الكثيرة التي تفضي إلى الهرب كل شيء يصبح كابوساً ثقيلا , في المستعمرة الكاربية التي أنتجت رالف سنغ الذي يتحدث على لسانه الكاتب بكثير من السخرية والحزن والتخبط عميقة جداً كما هو مكتوب على غلاف الكتاب , نحن لانتسلى حينما نقرأها نحن نقف في عمق البطل ونحلل معه
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Feb 04, 2010
Jim
rated it: 
"Sentence for sentence, he is a model of literary tact and precision…" – for me that is why one should read this book. There is not a line that does not feel considered. This is precisely what Naipaul intended to say. It might not be what a lot of people want to hear but I would respectfully suggest that it is far from irrelevant. A lot of dull (and, indeed, unsympathetic) characters have had a lot to say, Camus' Meursault, in his prison cell (The Outsider), and Saul Bellow's Joseph, i
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Jan 02, 2011
Carolina
rated it: 
Naipaul's prose is always precise, provocative, even from time to time tender, and this early book is no exception. His penetration into human nature and the human condition here reveals that he could be both a humanitarian and misanthropic. He writes, autobiographically, at a time when the two were more in balance and those sparks of deep humanity are welcomed. While his insights into our motivations and behaviour are searingly perceptive, I foung The Mimic Men (of whom his main character, R
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Mar 20, 2010
Ruth
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This was not the funniest or easiest book I have read by Naipaul, although it did make me laugh out loud at times. I found the structure interesting; it could have been disjointed given the very different stages of the story and the different contexts. Instead, though, it seemed quite natural - the book is written as a self-reflective biography and there is a conscious and, I think, successful development of the protagonist's thinking throughout the book:
So writing, for all its initi More...
So writing, for all its initi More...
Aug 16, 2008
Michele
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I think this is one of the first books I've ever read (at least that I'm consciously aware of) that won a Pulitzer Prize. I can see why it won it. I can also see why popular fiction will never win the Pulitzer.
The novel tells the story of a Caribbean politician and his life "in parenthesis" on his home island and in London. The narrative voice doesn't shift from place to place, which focuses the cohesiveness of the personality that moves between the two spaces. The narrator's More...
The novel tells the story of a Caribbean politician and his life "in parenthesis" on his home island and in London. The narrative voice doesn't shift from place to place, which focuses the cohesiveness of the personality that moves between the two spaces. The narrator's More...
Nov 21, 2011
Bartlett
rated it:
As the modern literary canon goes, V.S. Naipaul has not known many equals. I wish I could talk about the book itself but the real impression I was left with was of the writer himself. This book confirmed for me what I've seen of him in some of his other books I've read. Whenever I read his books I'm always left in awe of his all-encompassing, almost rapacious approach to representing his subjects objectively. As they really are.
This book is due a second reading for sure.
This book is due a second reading for sure.
Sep 23, 2010
Nojood
rated it:
كم أرهقتني الترجمة
كتاب مليء بالرموز التي استوقفتني كثيرا في محاولة لفهم عميق لما يقصد
بالرغم من خجل الشخصية الرئيسية من أبيها إلا أن مسيرة حياته كلها كانت أشبه بإعادة حية لحياة والده ولكن في عالم أحدث وأدوار مختلفة
هل نسير على خطوات آباؤنا دون أن نشعر؟
كتاب مليء بالرموز التي استوقفتني كثيرا في محاولة لفهم عميق لما يقصد
بالرغم من خجل الشخصية الرئيسية من أبيها إلا أن مسيرة حياته كلها كانت أشبه بإعادة حية لحياة والده ولكن في عالم أحدث وأدوار مختلفة
هل نسير على خطوات آباؤنا دون أن نشعر؟
Jun 14, 2009
Angie
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The first two sections of this book were brilliant and I found myself relating a lot. When it got to the more political side of Naipaul, however, I found myself pretty lost. It was probably a bad introduction to Naipaul on the whole, despite the fact that 2/3 of the book left me laughing and crying alongside with the main character.
On the other hand, it's an amazing feeling to read a book that goes over your head, especially if you're a pretty extensive and avid reader.
On the other hand, it's an amazing feeling to read a book that goes over your head, especially if you're a pretty extensive and avid reader.
Dec 25, 2009
i.
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Well-crafted fiction; couldn't help feeling also (apart from the rigorous dealing with issues of place, identity and displacement) Naipaul built (somewhat, somehow) on sartre's short story The Childhood of a Leader
Jan 06, 2009
nmg
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The characters and the stories and the places in his novels have to be very compelling (as they are in A Bend in the River and A House for Mr. Biswas) in order to overcome the overarching dreariness of the tone. I did not finish this book.
Jun 03, 2011
Geetanjali Tara
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good work but sounds very stereotype, a young second generation immigrant Indian in the Caribbeans being toyed by the world powers..
Mar 18, 2011
Seema
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This book has unlikeable characters (particularly the protagonist) and a weak plot, but Naipaul's writing style is so stunning I had to give it a 3. I will definitely be reading more Naipaul in the future.
May 03, 2010
Pat
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This book is not an easy breezy read. Other reviews have described it as dense, and I would not disagree with that assessment.
If you are interested in writing and literature, its worth the effort. I found it took me some time to settle in, but by the end I quite liked this book.
If you are interested in writing and literature, its worth the effort. I found it took me some time to settle in, but by the end I quite liked this book.
Apr 21, 2008
Kate
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I think perhaps the style of the prose is a large factor towards my disliking this novel - it just wasn't for me.
However, I think the main reason I didn't like it was the protagonist, Ralph Singh. I just couldn't connect to the man, no matter how hard I tried.
Mostly, it felt like this was a novel that was floating by me, but that I could not grasp on to.
However, I think the main reason I didn't like it was the protagonist, Ralph Singh. I just couldn't connect to the man, no matter how hard I tried.
Mostly, it felt like this was a novel that was floating by me, but that I could not grasp on to.
Dec 16, 2009
Sabina
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Naipaul's book that resonated most with me. I was drawn to its post-colonialist immigrant story, the idea of finding home in transient spaces, such as hotels and airports, and trying to fit into various communities, "mimicking" his various selves in order to survive in various contexts. It's about survival, though the narrator never finds home.
Jan 06, 2012
Bogdan
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I learned a lot about what it means to be a stranger and the life on the former colonies from the Carribean. I didn't like the style of this writer. It was like always waiting for the naration to burst but the waiting was in vane.
My copy of this book is in romanian.
My copy of this book is in romanian.
Dec 17, 2009
Ryan
rated it:
dense, overwritten, slightly boring. naipaul has a great concept for a book, and the subtlety is admirable, but a really great book comes with both the subtlety of its implicit messages and a good story to match. fail
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 10, 2012
Feb 07, 2012
