A Bend in the River question

I'm asking this question to find out not what you think of any particular book but what led you to decide to read it?

Here's the reason I'm currently reading 'A Bend in the River' by V.S. Naipaul. Some years ago, a friend told me that if I wanted to know more about his early life, I should read this book. So it's been on my list for a while, but only now have I got round to reading it. Why did I wait so long? Possibly because I've read nothing else by Naipaul, and he describes a world (the lives of people who are ethnically Indian in the Caribbean and in Africa) that I know nothing about. But then that's the pleasure of fiction, taking you places you haven't or couldn't visit, seeing the world through others' eyes.

'A Bend in the River' is set in central Africa. I read books set in Africa sporadically, having visited this continent in person twice, for short visits, but each time I was frustrated by my ignorance of its histories and cultures. The last books about Africa I read before this were 'Heart of Darkness'(Conrad) and 'Things Fall Apart' (Achebe) and the influence of both on Naipaul's novel is clear.

So my other reason for reading this is to continue my exploration through fiction of a continent that I may not have the chance to get to know any other way.