In a Free State Quotes

“The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.”
― V. S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“Me black and beautiful’ was the first thing she taught me. Then she pointed to the policeman with the gun outside and taught me: ‘He pig.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“The man from Beirut came in and watched. He stood beside Hans. Then he stood beside the furniture-maker and whispered to him in English, their secret language. ‘The guy’s locked himself in the cabin.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“It is the first time I am in a church and I don’t like it. It is as though they are making me eat beef and pork. The flowers and the brass and the old smell and the body on the cross make me think of the dead. The funny taste is in my mouth, my old nausea, and I feel I would vomit if I swallow.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“You know why you came. You can’t complain.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“the shame is like a secret, and it is always hurting.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State

“We should have known from the first day that the country wasn’t for us, and we should have taken our courage in both hands and gone back home.”
― V.S. Naipaul, In a Free State