V.S. Naipaul has a genius for crafting the most beautiful stories. Part of his genius I think lies in his acute observatory skills. In this book, he travels to India, Kashmir and the Himalayas and his observations of the land are described with poetic beauty. You feel the dust and noise of Bombay, the breathtaking secrets of the Himalayas and the fragility of Kashmir. He certainly entices you to start looking into plane fares to India and dusting off your hiking boots.

The caste system of India seems to govern everything from the kind of jobs one can hold, to whom a person can marry. His description of the caste system was fascinating. His anecdotes of people he met or observed ranged from disquieting to hilarious. At times I found his manner a little condescending in his descriptions of the corporate officers or box-wallahs who adopted mannerisms of the British after India's independence. His descriptions of the emaciated children living in the slums were heart-wrenching although through it all, he manages to capture the quiet dignity with which they carry themselves.

Things have changed a little in India since the days of the British Raj, but not by much. ( )

There was a time when I loathed Naipaul, wondering how someone never born and brought up in India can pass such judgements on her so unabatedly, but of course I was naive. Am older and less of a spring-chicken now in such matters.Now, If there is someone whose judgement on India I give a true fuck about these days it has to be his ( Well, may be along with Upamanyu Chatterjees). The rest are mediocre scum floating in their vast post-modern mediocrity. As Vidia himself put-India does revel in its own unparalleled levels of mediocrity and any mediocre success that comes out of it is despite all mediocre efforts to prevent it or achieve it in the first place! I am sure the book is hated in India and by Indian journalists/reviewers ; surely nothing could speak better for the book. ( )

Naipaul is probably not for everyone, but I sure do enjoy his books. He comes across as a bit surly, and the kind of guy you probably wouldn't really want as a travel companion (Not that he would be likely to invite you, except as a reader, of course). One of the things I enjoy about him is his self-reliance and his straightforward way of speaking for himself, and the implication that he will take responsibility for what he has said.

This book will give you an interesting portrait of India, and a list of some very memorable characters. I particualarly enjoy Naipaul's occassional insights or conclusions, one might call them. He doesn't force them, and he never comes across as pedantic. They are pithy comments that summarize a whole experience, and invite analysis.

This is India in the early 1960s. The shadow of colonialism is longer. The middle-class is smaller. Naipaul is a younger man. The book makes an interesting contrast to Among the Believers and Beyond Belief which come across to me as less self-absorbed--about the people and lands, not about Naipaul's reaction to the people and land.

Shortly after reading this book, I praised V.S. Naipual's perceptiveness about the experience and affects of travel in a person's life. Then I forgot the book until I came across a short review in my journal. Books that don't make a lasting impression go into my middle-of-the-road category. I give it 3 stars. ( )

Often dark, always accurate Naipaul chooses to look at those aspects of India and himself that aren't comfortable. He offers some illuminating insights. ( )