Classics · WarmMohun Biswas marries into the powerful Tulsi family in Trinidad and becomes determined to own a house of his own
A House for Mr Biswas
A man in Trinidad dominated by his wife's family wants a house of his own
Mohun Biswas is a Hindu Indo-Trinidadian man who continually strives for success and mostly fails. After he marries Shama into the influential Tulsi family, they dominate him, and he becomes determined to own a house of his own. The story is set in rural Trinidad, in the Tulsi household and its decaying Hanuman House, and at an estate called Green Vale. André Deutsch published it in London in 1961, and McGraw Hill released the first US edition in New York the same year.
More about this book
Who
Mohun Biswas, his wife Shama, the Tulsi family and his son Anand.
World
Rural Trinidad, Hanuman House and an estate called Green Vale.
What makes it different
Biswas is based on Naipaul's father, Seepersad Naipaul, and Anand on the author. Naipaul wrote in 1983, "Of all my books A House for Mr. Biswas is the one closest to me."
Feel
Tender and comic.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- A House for Mr BiswasWikipedia