3.5
The Mystic Masseur
The Mystic Masseur, V. S. Naipaul's first published novel, is the story of the rise and rise of Ganesh, from failed primary school teacher and struggling masseur to author, revered mystic and MBE - a journey equally memorable for its hilarity as its bewildering success.
An unforgettable cast of characters witness this meteoric ascent: Ganesh's father-in-law, Ramlogan, whose shop gave the impression that 'every morning someone went over everything in it - scales, Ramlogan, and all - with a greased rag'; his aunt, the Great Belcher, with her troubling wind; his wife Leela, and her fondness for putting a punctuation mark after every word. Soon, Ganesh's small hut is filled with books (1,500, as his wife will attest), and his trousers and shirt disappear to be replaced by more suitable attire for a proper mystic. As 'The Woman Who Couldn't Eat' and 'Lover Boy', the man who fell in love with his bicycle, line up to be cured, it looks like the mystic masseur is surely destined for greatness.
In one of the author's finest comic creations we see the immense sensitivity, humour and endlessly inventive imagination that have become the hallmarks of V. S. Naipaul's genius.
FictionHumorousLiteraryCultural HeritageSatire
RELEASED2011
PUBLISHERPicador
LENGTH207
LANGUAGEEN
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, won an Open National Scholarship from Queen's Royal College and went on to become a world famous novelist, winning the Nobel Laureate for Literature in the year 2001. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from University College, Oxford in 1953, and four years later published his first book The Mystic Masseur, made into film by Ismail Merchant in 2001. In 1961 he published A House for Mr. Biswas, a novel autobiographical in its nature. Some of his other works include The Guerillas(1975),The Middle Passage(1962) A Bend in the River(1979), Among the Believers(1981), The Enigma of Arrival (1987), India: A Million Mutinies Now(1990),Beyond Belief(1998) and Half a Life(2001). In 1990 he was knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth and in 1992 Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was awarded the Trinity Cross for services to the nation.
3.5
The Mystic Masseur
The Mystic Masseur, V. S. Naipaul's first published novel, is the story of the rise and rise of Ganesh, from failed primary school teacher and struggling masseur to author, revered mystic and MBE - a journey equally memorable for its hilarity as its bewildering success.
An unforgettable cast of characters witness this meteoric ascent: Ganesh's father-in-law, Ramlogan, whose shop gave the impression that 'every morning someone went over everything in it - scales, Ramlogan, and all - with a greased rag'; his aunt, the Great Belcher, with her troubling wind; his wife Leela, and her fondness for putting a punctuation mark after every word. Soon, Ganesh's small hut is filled with books (1,500, as his wife will attest), and his trousers and shirt disappear to be replaced by more suitable attire for a proper mystic. As 'The Woman Who Couldn't Eat' and 'Lover Boy', the man who fell in love with his bicycle, line up to be cured, it looks like the mystic masseur is surely destined for greatness.
In one of the author's finest comic creations we see the immense sensitivity, humour and endlessly inventive imagination that have become the hallmarks of V. S. Naipaul's genius.
FictionHumorousLiteraryCultural HeritageSatire
RELEASED2011
PUBLISHERPicador
LENGTH207
LANGUAGEEN
Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul, won an Open National Scholarship from Queen's Royal College and went on to become a world famous novelist, winning the Nobel Laureate for Literature in the year 2001. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts from University College, Oxford in 1953, and four years later published his first book The Mystic Masseur, made into film by Ismail Merchant in 2001. In 1961 he published A House for Mr. Biswas, a novel autobiographical in its nature. Some of his other works include The Guerillas(1975),The Middle Passage(1962) A Bend in the River(1979), Among the Believers(1981), The Enigma of Arrival (1987), India: A Million Mutinies Now(1990),Beyond Belief(1998) and Half a Life(2001). In 1990 he was knighted by H.M. Queen Elizabeth and in 1992 Sir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul was awarded the Trinity Cross for services to the nation.
