[iguy]

Another article today (although actually an interview from 1998) with more focus on his work & what it's about:

https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2018/08/vs-naipau...

A sad day. It seems to me that his themes of displacement, and cultural mismatches & how they affect people, keep becoming more important. We do a lot of shouting about these issues now, in the Western world in 2018 I mean; but he was never shouting, just digging into people's varied stories, and especially their disappointments, and trying to make sense of them.

[sridca]

> Racial equality and assimilation are attractive but only underline the loss, since to accept assimilation is in a way to accept permanent inferiority.

Interesting. Anyone got details (background and context) on this quote?

[iguy]

Not this exact quote. But something like this is a theme in many of his books, often applied to himself, and to other people who've moved to western countries (or, into western-derived cultures).

It's also close to a theme of Among the Believers etc, where (to paraphrase crudely!) he comes to view non-arab muslims as being in some sense immigrants to an Arab-centred culture, with some of the same feelings of loss.