Naipaul's book is a pleasant, sometimes repetitive, hodgepodge of memoir, thoughts on books and writers, and reflections on history, especially India's. Simon Vance, who is highly skilled and experienced, narrates with intelligence, nuance, and feeling (sometimes just a bit too much feeling or emphasis). His very professionalism, oddly, calls attention to the fact that this is not the author reading these first-person observations. Vance’s English accent, unlike Naipaul's, has no flavor of the Caribbean, or even the subcontinent. Even one who has never heard Naipaul, just from hearing his personal history, may find this reading, while technically nearly impeccable, actorly, bland, and inauthentic. But barring a personal reading, this is the best one can reasonably expect. W.M. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]
Trade Ed. • Blackstone Audiobooks • 2008
CS ISBN 978-1-4332-1392-3 $24.95 • Five cassettes
CD ISBN 978-1433213939 $24.95 • Five CDs
DD ISBN multiple sources
Library Ed. • Blackstone Audiobooks • 2008
CS ISBN 978-1-4332-1390-8 $44.95 • Five cassettes
CD ISBN 978-1-4332-1393-1 $50.00 • Five CDs
MP3-CD ISBN 978-1-4332-1394-X $29.95 • One MP3-CDs
DD ISBN multiple sources
Trade Ed. • Blackstone Audiobooks • 2008
CS ISBN 978-1-4332-1392-3 $24.95 • Five cassettes
CD ISBN 978-1433213939 $24.95 • Five CDs
DD ISBN multiple sources
Library Ed. • Blackstone Audiobooks • 2008
CS ISBN 978-1-4332-1390-8 $44.95 • Five cassettes
CD ISBN 978-1-4332-1393-1 $50.00 • Five CDs
MP3-CD ISBN 978-1-4332-1394-X $29.95 • One MP3-CDs
DD ISBN multiple sources
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