Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. In this tender, funny early novel, V. S. Naipaul renders their lives (and the legends their neighbors construct around them) with Dickensian verve and Chekhovian compassion.
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. There's Man-man, who goes from running for "A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say 'Slum!'

The author grew up nearby. All in all, Naipaul's writing draws the reader into the vibrant life of Miguel Street, lending the understanding of life in a poor Port of Spain neighborhood in the early mid-twentieth century.Naipaul was born and raised in Trinidad, to which his grandfathers had emigrated from India as indentured servants. I have read his work backwards starting with his later novels and then moving on to the earlier ones (Naipaul's third novel about a bunch of colorful characters living in a street in Port of Spain. 'Miguel Street' is a masterpiece of character development, colorful imagery, caribbean flavor, and charming story-telling. Let no one fool you into thinking that just because this book is set in the beautiful island of Trinidad, that somehow it will pander to the stereotype of the Caribbean as being an idyllic eco-paradise filled with mirth and tranquillity. In worse condition than anticipated.

While the stories were reminiscent for me, the story took a rapid turn.

But to its residents this derelict corner of Trinidad's capital is a complete world, where everybody is quite different from everybody else.

The book is written in such a way that each chapter seems like it's own individual short story; a feature that I liked. Beatings are a given behavior, the source of establishing who's boss, at home, on the street, or in the neighborhood. I am so conflicted right now. Miguel Street did not disappoint. Naipaul's books. I read this book for the first time as part of my literature class and I remember loving all the characters. Please try again. It is an engaging masterpiece, full of rich and diverse characters and brilliantly funny, by far my favourite Naipaul and one of the best novels I have ever read. Naipaul does an amazing job of painting a vivid picture of what life in Trinidad was like back in the old days.


Naipaul's third novel about a bunch of colorful characters living in a street in Port of Spain. I mean this was so awesome that I took 20 days to finish this 200 page book. The narrator, whose name is never revealed, recalls his encounters and memories with each one of the people living on Miguel Street.

Naipaul effectively pieces together the individual stories of various members of Miguel Street, as observed through the central narrator--a young man reflecting upon his childhood, from a physical and emotional distance. Naipaul delivered tragicomedy at its finest, yet the book would probably have a very different reception if it was published today, for the violence and abuse that he reports on in these stories. The slang, the rhythm of the stories, and of course the names for each other felt relate-able. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis … Some chapters made me laugh, others made me cry. Miguel Street written by V.S. I certainly don't think Naipaul is espousing this abuse but on second reading the light touch he gives to it seems in apropriate. Naipaul provides the reader with an insight of the life in Trinidad and Tobago, the life of the black community and more specifically, the life of a colonized black community. Miguel Street is my favourite V.S Naipaul novel. “One of the few contemporary writers of whom we can speak in terms of greatness.” –Mel Gussow, He spent four years at University College, Oxford, and began to write, in London, in 1954. The style is brilliant, and I love the local English patois that most of the inhabitants use. In this tender, funny early novel, V. S. Naipaul renders their lives (and the legends their neighbors construct around them) with Dickensian verve and Chekhovian compassion. First, in a broad view, Miguel Street exemplified the social aspect of human beings by demonstrating how a man’s identity is strongly determined by the people he surrounds himself with. Please try againSorry, we failed to record your vote. The search for identity, corMiguel Street written by V.S. Beautifully written.

The narrator, whose name is never revealed, recalls his encounters and memories with each one of the people living on Miguel Street.