Trinidad-born UK author of Indian origin VS Naipaul has won the Nobel Prize for literature for works that "compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories".
In a statement, Naipaul said: "I am utterly delighted, this is an unexpected accolade.
"It is a great tribute to England, my home, and to India, home of my ancestors and to the dedication and support of my agent Gillon Aitken.". The author of more than 20 books has written in both fiction and non-fiction about his travels in India, Africa, Iran and elsewhere from the Middle East to Central .True to form, Naipaul remained his own man even in the heat of the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan, which political leaders have been trying hard to portray as not a clash of civilisations. Just last week, at a reading of his newest book, Half a Life, Naipaul spoke controversially about the conflict between Islam and the West.
The book, his most brutal and gloomy yet, with few linguistic or literary adornments, was dropped from the shortlist of this year's Booker Prize, which is to be announced next week. "They must be kicking themselves," said a newspaper literary editor after hearing of the latest honour to be heaped on Naipaul
http://www.timesofindia.com/articleshow.asp?art_ID=1537644118
