Books by Patrick French

3. Patrick French, India: A Portrait .  Consistently thoughtful.  I didn’t love it, but a reader could do much worse.  I finished it.

1. The World is What It Is , by Patrick French.  This authorized (yes, authorized) biography digs up all the dirt on V.S. Naipaul; I’ve never read anything like it.  Here is a Paul Theroux review .  Here is another rave review .  Theroux’s own self-loathing, quasi-fictional biography of his "friendship" with Naipaul — Sir Vidia’s Shadow — remains one of my favorite books but this is a wonderful sequel.  And if you haven’t read through Naipaul’s ouevre you should, especially A Bend in the River ,...