Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

India: A Million Mutinies Now

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 533 ratings · 40 reviews

A New York Times Notable Book

Nobel laureate V. S. Naipaul’s impassioned and prescient travelogue of his journeys through his ancestral homeland, with a new preface by the author.

Arising out of Naipaul’s lifelong obsession and passion for a country that is at once his and totally alien, India: A Million Mutinies Now relates the stories of many of the people he met traveling...more

Paperback, 544 pages

Published March 22nd 2011 by Vintage (first published November 30th 1990)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is not yet featured on Listopia. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,031)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Oct 30, 2007 Raghu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is the third book on India by V.S.Naipaul and certainly the most conciliatory one of the three. His earlier books on India were written when Naipaul himself was much younger and perhaps as a result were more scathing and critical of India's negatives. But this book shows a certain mellow tone and compassion. He writes about the 'rage' of each community and caste and religion in India and perceptively observes that one's own rage and historical injustice suffered is more important than other...more

4 likes · like · see review

Aug 14, 2011 Arpitha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

V.S Naipaul is probabling still dodging feminist bullets after his comments on female writers in july this year. Its not hard to see why so many 'intellectuals' and public figures find his non fiction a little unsettling. his eassays are sharp , witty and intensly personal. In ' A million mutinies now' he Chronicles pre -liberalized India. the book is a memoir of his travels between 1988 and 1990. born in 1991, I was curious about the not so distant history which was more or less the gestationa...more V.S Naipaul is probabling still dodging feminist bullets after his comments on female writers in july this year. Its not hard to see why so many 'intellectuals' and public figures find his non fiction a little unsettling. his eassays are sharp , witty and intensly personal. In ' A million mutinies now' he Chronicles pre -liberalized India. the book is a memoir of his travels between 1988 and 1990. born in 1991, I was curious about the not so distant history which was more or less the gestational period for the 'New India' - result of economic reforms and rapid socio-political mood swings.

During the late 80's , my mother was just settling into her new home in a tiny bank staff quaters in Lokanwala Mumbai. Around the same time Naipaul lands in the city on the eve of Ambedkar's birth anniversay. In then Bombay (now ofcourse Mumbai, don't want to upset the MNS) he explores the politics of the Shiv Sena . the underworld, the ghettos and the Dallal street businessmen with sobriety rarely seen among contemporary opinion leaders. Down south he gives the reader in depth insights on Dravidian politics, the Periyar 'rationalist' movement and (much to my delight) a birds eye view of yesteryear Madras (now Chennai, again no offence) . In another chapter titled ' The end of time' ,Naipaul narrates the story of a Shia Muslim man from a Lucknowi royal family, his enthusiasm for a moderate Islamic state of Pakistan and the subsequent dissapointment. My favorite chapter is ' Women's era' ,about the popular women's periodical targeted at middle class women.Naipaul painstakingly gathers opinions from different women from various walks of life. This is especially juicy now considering the sticky situation he finds himself in now.

Naipaul's writing seems incredibly slick and charming. There is something distinctly unpretentious about it without a trace of the stereotypical patronizing western observations usually dished out. He is critical yet compassionate in his observations with a steady supply of wit. In 'Shadow of Guru' and 'A house on the lake' he explores the militant movements in Punjab and Kashmir. When he finds a picture of the Golden temple hanging in the reception of Kashmiri man's lobby he senses a ideological comradery between the two separatist movements while a contemporary left wing leaning critic would point to a symbol of unity and defiance against the common enemy ( i'm only guessing after enduring numerous editorials of our day and age).
At several points in the book i wondered how Naipaul would have written about the current situation and i guess not much has changed but many other issues have come to light and conflicts have multiplied. But one thing's for sure if he writes another one i'd queue up for it. facebook page says "LIKE" !(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 03, 2013 Will rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

"It had been hard enough to drive past the area. It was harder to imagine what it was like living there. Yet people lived with the stench and the terrible air, and had careers there. Even lawyers lived there, I was told. Was the smell of excrement only on the periphery, from the iridescent black lake? No; that stench went right through Dharavi. Even more astonishing was to read in a Bombay magazine an article about Papu's suburb of Sion, in which the slum of Dharavi was written about almost as a...more

like · see review

Jul 31, 2012 Manjunath rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Era in which this was written was the 90's...
Author travels wide and far to integrate the one nation theory and has a strong tilt towards the centralized functionality of the system which as per my consideration act to it's advantage and disadvantage...
There are various notions which he formalizes (to which even I agree)
1)That Post Independence the nation has improved along with it's citizens
2)There is power and crookedness in Politics
3)The one nation theory is fragile and is susceptible to...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 02, 2008 Juliana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Here V.S. Naipul revisits India, the land his ancestors left to work as indentured servants in Trinidad. In this very subjective take on the country, he comes to terms with his own family history, and tries to portray the country's growing pains. You see the poverty, the corruption, the stark religious divides you'd expect; the most interest aspect of the book are the lengthy interviews with Indians from various backgrounds (a Jain businessman, a Shiv Sena community organizer,etc) which allow th...more

like · see review

Jul 29, 2012 Teresa Esteban rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 20th-century, asian-lit

Well... how to begin with this book.
It is not a novel, that I can tell, it's not an essay, it's quite near to journalism, but I think the most accurate definition would be "documentary". The author explains his several trips to India, but focusing on the people he met, that he interviewed.
The book is divided in 9 sections, each of them focusing in a particular aspect of India. We have the Brahmans, the untouchables, the communist movements, the Muslims, the Sikhs, women, cinema,etc. And to have...more

like · see review

Apr 28, 2011 Cbj rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: terrible-honesty

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A MILLION MUTINIES NOW is an enormous book (both in size and scope) about Naipaul's travels across India some time in the early 90s.

Naipaul arrives in Bombay, where he discusses the rise of the Shiv Sena (a chauvinistic Marathi Hindu political party), meets a disillusioned Muslim youth in Muhammad Ali road and finally interviews Namdeo Dhansal (the famous Dalit leader and poet) and his wife Mallika. Naipaul must have excellent communication skills (though people describe him as a misanthrope)be...more A MILLION MUTINIES NOW is an enormous book (both in size and scope) about Naipaul's travels across India some time in the early 90s.

Naipaul arrives in Bombay, where he discusses the rise of the Shiv Sena (a chauvinistic Marathi Hindu political party), meets a disillusioned Muslim youth in Muhammad Ali road and finally interviews Namdeo Dhansal (the famous Dalit leader and poet) and his wife Mallika. Naipaul must have excellent communication skills (though people describe him as a misanthrope)because it is really interesting how various Shiv Sena leaders and Dhansal's wife open up to Naipaul and discuss their whole lives with him (he did have a translator). Naipaul's deductions are sharp and give us a lot of insight into why Bombay is the way it is.

Naipaul disagrees with the general opinion among Indian intellectuals and the media that the Shiv Sena are fascists. He argues that the Sena should be seen as a group of people asserting themselves and getting in touch with their history thereby realizing who they actually are. He sees them as part of an awakening in India. I do not know how to analyze this view as my knowledge about the Sena and Bombay politics are close to nil. I found it to be an interesting view, nonetheless.

After Bombay, Naipaul travels to Madras where he meets a few Brahmins. He is interested in them because their fathers were Hindu priests while they became neuro scientists - he sees this as self improvement. He then discuses the role of Periyar (the anti-Hindu and anti-Brahmin leader of mid-caste Dravidians) in energizing mid-caste Dravidian youth. He sees the DMK (Dravida Munetta Kazhalam) as being a slight failure but nonetheless recognizes the following it enjoyed in the South.

He travels to West Bengal and is unimpressed by the decay of Calcutta. He says the communist party has had a stultifying effect on the city. He also interviews a few middle class Naxal leaders and takes a sympathetic view of them.

Then he heads to Punjab and tries to find out about the origins of Sikh separatism and terrorism. He interviews a few people who were directly in touch with Bindranwalla. He tries to analyze the movement by connecting it with certain aspects of Sikhism.

A MILLION MUTINIES NOW is a very scintillating read. Especially for some one like me who is not familiar with various movements that took place in India after 1947. Naipaul makes comparisons between the various movements and the 1857 Sepoy mutiny. He also discusses in detail the book written by William Howard Russel about his travels across India during the mutiny.

Naipaul takes a favorable view of the country's economic development and thinks India will be restored to its former greatness under the security of the Indian Union.

I wonder what he would say about India now. But he said somewhere that he had already given his last interview about India. Naipaul is someone who has a terrible view of India's history and he might argue that the current situation in India is a lot better than the past when it was continuously invaded by outside forces. I am merely guessing. I wish Naipaul was still around debating with Arundhati Roy and Ramachandra Guha. It would have been interesting to hear what he had to say about their views on India's rapid economic development, the Maoist insurgency etc.
(less)

like · see review

Jun 13, 2011 Rachel Rueckert rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: india

This was the first book I read upon arriving in India. It was recommended to me by my friend, Jay, who said that this was a great representation of his first experience being in India, so I had it added to my directed readings course contract.

It is hard to sum up 500 pages worth of words, but I’ll try my best. This is about modern India, but a slightly dated version at that. While it is interesting (most of the time), thorough, and great at painting a sort of portrait for the reader of the co...more This was the first book I read upon arriving in India. It was recommended to me by my friend, Jay, who said that this was a great representation of his first experience being in India, so I had it added to my directed readings course contract.

It is hard to sum up 500 pages worth of words, but I’ll try my best. This is about modern India, but a slightly dated version at that. While it is interesting (most of the time), thorough, and great at painting a sort of portrait for the reader of the complexity of this country, it is also very dark. It has a very negative tone to it and appears to be Naipaul’s trip to explore his own Indian heritage but at the same time note the “million mutinies” and overwhelming problems the country faces. I wonder sometimes if his commentary on Calcutta, about it being a dying city, and recognizing that because everyone is suffering is actually his opinion on the whole country (325). In general I would have liked to see if he had any positive experiences that were just not recorded here.

A question I would ask Naipaul is how he came up with enough notes to get these extremely detailed scenes. Every word and every line and every wall color is noted. Yet, towards the end of this book we get a confession that the first book he wrote about India he did without keeping any kind of field journal (367). Being on a field experience myself and trying to do some creative writing about India I cannot imagine not keeping a journal. For this book he says he also took no tape-recorder (14). It makes me seriously question how much of these stories he includes are fiction. How exactly did he get the “Ideas” and abstracts to “become books…clothed with people and narrative” (13). In general, as a field student, I would have liked to see more of what his experience was getting this informants and what the field work part of this traveling looked like. One thing is for sure though, as I am quickly starting to realize, “in order to write about India…you had to spend a lot of time in India” (297). Sometimes I wonder how I am going to be able to really write what I would like to write based on just over three months of experiences here.

I did enjoy his images, especially of the crowds. While my experience in India might not be as similar to my friend Jay’s, many of these scenes have played out before me. The traffic. The modern India, the one that has Gandhi’s face all over rupee notes but no more homespun cloth or trace of his seemingly archaic politics. It is just all very fascinating what has happened since India’s independence, and I appreciated Naipaul’s commentary. I would like to know more about where India is now, especially given the GPD that is supposed to pass China. It does not seem to be in such a negative position as this book would lend us to believe, though the country clearly faces serious problems in the near future—population, food, fuel, jobs, etc.

Would I recommend this book? Probably. But would I read it again? Definitely not. It was a great history lesson, but it was a difficult read.
(less)

like · see review

Oct 02, 2007 Sandhya rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

V S Naipaul has often been accused of being unsympathetic in his view/portrayal of India, judging from his works. It's quite clear that though this Nobel laureate’s ancestral roots were in India, he never treated it like home and his loyalties were always with Trinidad (the country he was born in) and then Canada, where he chose to settle down.
Even then, Naipaul has had close cultural and literary connections with India and the fact that he has written at least three books on India is testimony...more

1 like · like · see review

May 21, 2011 Raúl Aníbal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Uh, me equivoqué de edición. Al parecer tengo una donde pegaron dos libros de Sir vidia. Me choca que la gente huevona no sea para buscar las imagenes d ela portada en Internet (que a veces, cuando no se puede no se puede. Pero este es un paperback, por favor) En fin, todo bien hasta ahora, ya sólo faltan quinientas paginas, pero va que vuela para cuatro estrellas... tal vez más

-------------------------------

Edit

Más que un libro de viajes una colección de historias, de entrevistas. Conocemos Ind...more

like · see review

Mar 08, 2013 Cijo Jose rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. Naipaul managed to capture what makes India special. As an indian myself, the expectation was for this book to just like any other book attemtpting to showcase the different cultures within in India and failed by emphasising the stereotypical views. However, a completely different perspective was seen by my reading of this book. Naipaul took me on a journey that made me appreciate the true beauty of the country of India, this book was truly an inspiring read.

like · see review

Jan 07, 2012 Clucklikeahen is currently reading it · review of another edition

I read 3/4 of the book before I lost it in my travels. Its always interesting to read about India while in India, but this book was awesome in teaching me about parts of India I had never learned about before through the very real stories/interviews Naipaul creates. There's this cool feeling of familiarity with all of the interviews that I really enjoyed, but the book goes by a bit too slowly for my typical taste, but perfect for this year

like · see review

Feb 13, 2013 Srikanth Mantravadi added it · review of another edition

A little dated but nevertheless lays down the groundwork for the quintessential post-Independence India travelogue whose famous exponents include Dalrymple and Suketu; be it the specific to general approach (intense focus on the particular and sum of the parts) or the extensive use of oral accounts. Naipaul's wide eyed wonder and penchance for analysing the obvious (for us Indians) can get annoying but can be glossed over.

like · see review

Mar 25, 2013 Rupert Lewis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a book that taught me much about India and her development. Naipaul allows us entry into the lives of gangsters, film makers , terrorists, bigots, politicians, revolutionaries, poets, bureaucrats, writers and poor people. It is a large canvas befitting a country of a billion people and the mutinies abound. Out of this huge and diverse place complex struggles emerge for wealth, survival and power,

like · see review

Dec 24, 2012 Blake rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My favorite moments: someone who lived in a "chawl" (Mumbai slum) said something like: "if you need peace and quiet to study, get up at 2:00 a.m. and you'll have all you need." About the same place in the book, someone was reported to have gone crazy by all the peace and quiet in a normal apartment - they missed "the comfort of human voices." Romanticized or not, it was a good view of India.

like · see review

Feb 18, 2012 Easwar Chandran rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I thought the prose of a Nobel laureate would be quite intimidating and complex. But I think the beauty of Naipaul’s prose is he never shows-off his vocabulary and provides a radical insight on some common practices in India. I think Naipaul loves India in his heart, but tries as much as possible to provide a balanced (maybe sarcastic) view towards some of the problems faced by the country

1 like · like · see review

Jul 22, 2012 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An impeccable piece of travel literature from the maestro. A journey across India in late 80s through Bombay, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Bengal, Lucknow, Punjab and finally Kashmir. Stories of extraordinary people in ordinary circumstances woven against rapidly changing socioeconomic fabric of pre-liberalisation era of the 90s. This is a very detailed book, took me nearly two months but this is not a book to be rushed through. One can feel his love for India and its people as well as sarcasm fo...more

like · see review

Sep 06, 2012 Sandeep rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book, impartially, tells about the various historical currents leading upto present time, this book is different from many other books on India which unnecessarily eulogize the India. Though whole of the country and all of the facets could not be covered in 600 pages but whatever has been covered is best justified

like · see review

Jul 05, 2012 Luzali rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

llego a mi de manera coincidente a llenar ese huequito que tenia por el que estaba teniendo tantos sueños recuerrentes con la India

lo que pienso de ese libro esta aqui http://luzali.blogspot.mx/2012/06/ind...

like · see review

Apr 27, 2012 Ashley marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I unexpectedly received this book in the mail from a friend yesterday. He wrote a quote in the beginning of the book, which I'm still pondering, but perhaps I will understand it more after I read the book. It was a very kind gesture.

like · see review

Jan 06, 2013 Mark Petrick rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this book after visiting India several times and wished I'd read it before my first trip. This book gets you under the skin of a country that on its surface can be utterly deceptive, in both positive and negative ways.

like · see review

Aug 07, 2011 Andrew Rosner rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Naipaul is more than just a great writer - he's a great observer of humanity. This is a wonderful look at how India's current "renaissance" has come about. It's a fascinating contrast with the failed state of Pakistan.

like · see review

Dec 23, 2012 Zareen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book on India is about V.S.Naipaul's most recent visit to India in which he resolves his inner conflicts as expressed in An Area Of Darkness. With a mixture of journalistic writing & interviews, he explores the India of the latter part of the 20th Century through his encounters with religious, political or secular people throughout India. Naipaul has written a well researched ethnography combining vigorous journalism & participative observation of various members of Indian communitie...more

like · see review

Dec 02, 2011 Alastair Humphreys rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hard work unless you immersed in India and really care, but he is a good writer and a fastidious researcher.

like · see review

Jan 16, 2011 Wanda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

fascinating read of India from an author of Indian descent who grew up in Trinidad and now resides in the UK.

like · see review

Jul 29, 2011 Sara marked it as to-read · review of another edition

-out of print- 09 'best books'-rory stewart (the places in between-afganistan memoir)

like · see review

Dec 28, 2011 Bbestnyc rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

added insight while traveling thru India

like · see review

Mar 27, 2013 Kristi Winegar rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amazing - want to read again.

like · see review

Jul 02, 2008 niloy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Definitely a well written book. Very usual narrative style, mainly collection of interviews, but there is some underlying flow or thread that holds the text together. I learned a lot about India in early 90s, and great to read this book in perspective after almost a couple o decades.

The last part about Kashmir, specially the part with haggling about the price for boat ride went on and on, may be a bit out of the place? Didnt really like that part.

Overall a good read, but not a light read!

like · see review

Mar 01, 2009 Heather rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is a commitment. It took me a good month to read, was very slow going at times, but totally worth it in the end. Naipul asks the most fascinating questions, and manages to create these 3 dimensional very real people and weave their stories together to give what feels like an insider view of India.
The book is travel writing meets current events (although it was written 20 years ago). If you are interested in foreign culture or anything India, the book is definitely worth the time.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 34 35 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (19)

More editions...

Genres

Cultural > India

32 users

Travel

21 users

Non Fiction

10 users

History

5 users

Cultural > Asia

5 users

Politics

4 users

Writing > Essays

2 users

Religion

2 users

Contemporary

2 users

Asian Literature > Indian Literature

2 users

See top shelves...

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About India: A Million ...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: India: A Million Mutinies Now
avg rating	preview: India: A Million Mutinies Now Goodreads rating: 3.82 (533 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9468887-india?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320389585l/9468887.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9468887-india?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]India: A Million Mutinies Now by V.S. Naipaul[/url]

India: A Million Mutinies Now

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (19)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About V.S. Naipaul

Books by V.S. Naipaul

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About India: A Million ...