Naipaul, Shiva

(Trinidadian, 1943–85)

The younger brother of V S. Naipaul, Shiva's first two novels are Fireflies (1970), and The Chip Chip Gatherers (1973), which won the Whitbread Novel award; both focus on wealthy Indian fmilies whose Hindu culture is withering and fading in the face of life in contemporary Trinidad. A collection of short prose pieces, Beyond the Dragon's Mouth, appeared in 1984. Naipaul gives us a privileged glimpse of the East Indian family at home in Trinidad, and if the language doesn't have the power and sharpness of V. S. Naipaul, the insights are nevertheless perceptive. Black and White (1980), his investigation into the Jonestown affair (the settlement in Guyana where, in 1978, the unbalanced American Revd Warren Jones persuaded his entire community of 900 to commit suicide) earned Naipaul great praise.

Samuel Selvon. See CARIBBEAN  EM