Author: V.S. Naipaul
publisher name: Pan MacMillan
ISBN: 9780330462686
In a Free State by V.S. Naipaul is a powerful novel originally conceived in 1969 as a sequence about displacement. The story is set in Africa, resembling places like Uganda or Rwanda, with two main characters who are English. Having once found liberation in Africa, they now face a changing and unsafe environment as tribal conflicts escalate. The narrative unfolds with a long drive to the safety of their compound, revealing the intricacies of the characters, the African country, and the Idi Amin-like future it awaits. The novel, winner of the Booker Prize in 1971, is hailed as one of Naipaul's greatest works, characterized by precision in language and a poignant exploration of human experiences.
