I really wasn't equipped to be a writer when I left Oxford. But then I set out to learn. I've always had the highest regard for the craft. I've always felt it was work. V. S. Naipaul craftequipfelt Change image and share on social
Many writers tend to write summing-up books at the end of their lives. V. S. Naipaul bookendlive Change image and share on social
I know my father and my mother, but beyond that I cannot go. My ancestry is blurred. V. S. Naipaul ancestryblurfather Change image and share on social
Each book, intuitively sensed and, in the case of fiction, intuitively worked out, stands on what has gone before, and grows out of it. I feel that at any stage of my literary career it could have been said that the last book contained all the others. V. S. Naipaul bookcareercase share on social
Whatever extra there is in me at any given moment isn't fully formed. I am hardly aware of it; it awaits the next book. It will - with luck - come to me during the actual writing, and it will take me by surprise. V. S. Naipaul actualawaitaware share on social
A civilization which has taken over the world cannot be said to be dying. V. S. Naipaul civilizationdieworld Change image and share on social
I don't feel I can speak with authority for many other people. V. S. Naipaul authorityfeelpeople Change image and share on social
My life is short. I can't listen to banality. V. S. Naipaul banalitylifelisten Change image and share on social
I came to London. It had become the center of my world and I had worked hard to come to it. And I was lost. V. S. Naipaul centerhardlondon Change image and share on social
