Sweet little buttercup, I...[See Julia Barclay's 'V.S. Naipaul can go eff himself and 'I don't mean that in an unkind way']"In an interview at the Royal Geographic Society on Tuesday about his career, Naipaul, who has been described as the "greatest living writer of English prose", was asked if he considered any woman writer his literary match. He replied: "I don't think so." Of Austen he said he "couldn't possibly share her sentimental ambitions, her sentimental sense of the world".
He felt that women writers were "quite different". He said: "I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. I think [it is] unequal to me."
The author, who was born in Trinidad, said this was because of women's "sentimentality, the narrow view of the world". "And inevitably for a woman, she is not a complete master of a house, so that comes over in her writing too," he said.
He added: "My publisher, [See his publisher's response] who was so good as a taster and editor, when she became a writer, lo and behold, it was all this feminine tosh. I don't mean this in any unkind way."....
..."The comments were dismissed by the Writers Guild of Great Britain, which said it would not "waste its breath on them". Literary journalist Alex Clark said: "Is he really saying that writers such as Hilary Mantel, AS Byatt, Iris Murdoch are sentimental or write feminine tosh?"So I had fun going against my own better judgment and happily wasting my time reading the comments that followed the article. Although there were those who defended Naipaul, here is a sampling of some of the negative, shorter comments:Literary critic Helen Brown described them as "arrogant, attention-seeking".He should heed the words of George Eliot – a female writer – whose works have had a far more profound impact on world culture than his."
"Delusional and Sick. A waste of space, this man."
"Them writers. They all mental."
"Ah what a total tool. There is nothing which belittles one's own work quicker than arrogance."
"What era is this man living in? Does he ring a bell when he's writing so the servants can bring him tea?"
"Silly old fart. Really, nothing else needs to be said."
"This man has been a known mega-misogynist for years. Best to just ignore him."
"Extra, Extra! misogynistic, wife beating writer has sexist views!"
"Naipaul's work reveals him to be, at heart, a neo-colonial apologist. That his attitude to gender is just as unenlightened should surprise no one. All this proves is that being a very good writer and being a prize berk are not mutually exclusive."
I particularly enjoyed the Mongoose-like response from belairkid. It echoed Walcott's famous poetic drop kicking of Naipaul in 2008.
belairkid
4 June 2011 3:54PM
And so it came to pass
This Naipaul
did hark deep
then spit
-a century it seemed-
on Africa shamed
and India bowed
to the delight and plaudits
of the bookish right
and guilty admiration
of a conflicted left
Til eleven years straight
past the century's end
on Austen grave
he shot his bile
(you get the picture)
and de white peole dem vex now
and start to change de channel
and call naipaul
Naipul
teef, harogant, hungrateful triniboy
to the delight of the long sufering blacks
and proud Asia's relief
sufficiently bathetic for Naipauls surprising and well deserved fall methinks"
What do I think? Well I know that Libya is fighting down to the ground for its sovereignty against the purveyors of "democracy", that the price of eggs is going up in Trinidad and Tobago, that dementia is also on the rise and that blissful ignorance is the goal of many including myself [of late and with some success]. I'd like to say that we should really be more judicious about how we use our time and energies BUT I wouldn't overreact to anything that Naipaul says. I would not completely dismiss his views.
As I have said elsewhere, the man is entitled to his opinions, opinions which obviously reflect the limitations of his life experiences. His wife, or some female, probably still prepares and serves his meals and cleans his home even if she has a full-time job outside. Those tasks take real time and effort, time that the master of the house may devote to digesting the treasures of "Le Monde Diplomatique" with a cup of tea and biscuits. It is a possibility that he has not had the opportunity to meet many women in his lifetime who are interested in and as knowledgeable about the same subjects which occupy his attention...probably because they are too busy preparing his meals and running households for him and other men like him.
Also, the truly brilliant people of both sexes seldom get much exposure as writers, speakers, teachers. The world's screens and texts and airwaves are clogged mostly by attention-craving garbage heads, including many, if not most, world leaders.
What did Naipaul actually say anyway? He has no female equals? Did he say that he has no female betters?
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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.
Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.
Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare
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