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Lillian Feder is Distinguished Professor Emerita
of English, Classics, and Comparative
Literature, Graduate School, The City University
of New York. She lives in New York City. She is
the author of The Handbook of Classical
Literature, Ancient Myth in Modern Poetry, and
Madness in Literature.
Naipaul's Truth: The Making of a Writer
V. S. Naipaul once described his purpose as an
author as nothing less than a "commitment to
deliver the truth." One of the world's greatest,
and most controversial, living writers, he has
written extensively about the enduring economic,
cultural, and psychological effects of
colonialism, particularly its assaults on
individual identity. In Naipaul's Truth, Lillian
Feder, noted author of several classic works of
literary criticism, explores Naipaul's writings
to deliver an original and beautifully written
analysis of her subject. Feder describes
Naipaul's methods for discovering the truth
about himself and the world he explores, and she
concludes that Naipaul's literature has
rightfully earned a place in the upper echelons
of the modern canon. Simultaneously an
intellectual biography and a revealing
psychological portrait of the artist, Naipaul's
Truth is a masterpiece of literary biography.
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"It is hard to be fair to V. S. Naipaul's
books: they challenge readers in
contentiousness. A neutral or disinterested
reading seems pointless. Most critics of
Naipaul think they must hand down a
political verdict. Lillian Feder never
forgets that the novels are works of art or
they are nothing. She engages with Naipaul's
political essays and examines their relation
to the corresponding fictions. Immensely
helpful work, this. I hope that readers will
learn from her patience and from the quality
and force of her intelligence."
– Denis Donoghue, University Professor
and Henry James Chair of English
and American Letters, New York University. |
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