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In a Free State book cover
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Two expatriates drive through an unnamed African country on the edge of civil war

In a Free State

by V. S. Naipaul

1971256 pagesModerate readSteady pace
★ Booker Prize, 1971

Displaced people in a changing postcolonial world

In a Free State is made up of a framing narrative and three linked stories about people who have left their homelands. The title story follows two expatriates on a long drive through an unnamed African country that is on the verge of civil conflict. It won the Booker Prize in 1971.

More about this book

Who

Expatriates, servants and travellers away from their native countries.

World

Africa, England, the Caribbean and the United States, as seen by travellers.

What makes it different

A novel built from a frame and three linked stories rather than a single plot.

Feel

Cool and precise.

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Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition

Further reading

About the author

V. S. Naipaul3 books on Tori Books