"An Area of Darkness" is V.S. Naipaul's semi-autobiographical account - at once painful and hilarious, always concerned - of his first visit to India, the land of his forbears. From the moment of his inauspicious arrival in prohibition-dry Bombay, bearing whisky and cheap brandy, he began to experience a sense of cultural estrangement from the subcontinent. It became for him a land of myths, an area of darkness closing up behind him as he travelled...The experience was not a pleasant one, but the pain the author suffered was creative rather than numbing, and engendered a masterful work of literature that is by turns tender, lyrical, explosive and cruel. With spectacular narrative skill, Naipaul provides a revelation both of India and of himself: a displaced person who paradoxically possesses a stronger sense of place than almost anyone. 'A masterpiece of travel-writing' - Paul Theroux. 'Brilliant' - "Observer".

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幽黯国度:记忆与现实交错的印度之旅

V.S.奈保尔（V.S.Naipaul）：

英国当代作家，文化巨匠。1932年生于特立尼达岛上一个印度移民家庭，1950年进入牛津大学攻读英国文学，毕业后迁居伦敦。

50年代开始写作，作品以小说、游记、文论为主，主要有《毕斯沃斯先生的房子》、《米格尔街》、《自由国度》、《河湾》与“印度三部曲”等。其作品在全球享有盛誉，半个世纪里，将里斯奖、毛姆奖、史密斯奖、布克奖、第一届大卫·柯恩文学奖等收入囊中。1990年，被英国女王封为爵士。2001年，荣获诺贝尔文学奖。