VS Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas was a bust--Karbula, Phil (absent) Liggett, Doc, Clark all failed to finish it--too slow paced, a "slog" in Karbula's words.
Hal and I finished it and liked it--"poignant" was Hal's word. Like the lifetime spent collecting furniture for a house they didn't have. Interesting that the author tells the whole tale on the first page--Biswas dies in debt, still, after living in his house, (that he got screwed on), only to die 10 weeks later.
I found the ensuing story fascinating (who knew there were ex-pat Indians in Trinidad?)and compelling. Naipaul gave Biswas a dignity he gave no other character by the use of the honorific "Mister," even referring to Mr. Biswas's birth. The detail of the social life and politics of the Tulsi holdings was frightening and hilarious--the Short Hills adventure, for example, where Biswas nicks a couple of pieces of fruit a day while other family members are carting away whole truckloads of lemons, as well as trees and anything else they can grab!
Anyway, it's kind of the story of most of the people on the planet--at the mercy of random chance and poor choices, we struggle to gain some kind of independence from family and responsibility, a place in the shade to rest, a room to be quiet in. We'll probably all die in debt, in a house not really our own.
The menu was fantastic (as always) baked artichoke dip for starters, steaks, chops, chicken, sausage, buffalo ribeye (me) done to perfection, an oreo crust ice cream cake for dessert, assorted beverages, a few mosquitos from Doc's lake, and a good time was had by all.
Respectfully submitted,
Mr. Thomas, recently retired
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