Book Review: Miguel Street by V.S. Naipaul

My mother actually bought me this book for Christmas in 2007 🎁🎄 and I am pretty sure I read it back then but I could not remember the story anymore. Recently, while visiting my mom I saw this book on the bookshelf and I decided that it was time for a re-read. Overall, I found this book to be enjoyable. It was funny, interesting and it really painted a vivid picture of life on Miguel Street. Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“A stranger could drive through Miguel Street and just say ‘Slum!’ because he could see no more. But we who lived there saw our street as a world, where everybody was quite different from everybody else. Man-Man was mad; George was stupid; Big Foot was a bully; Hat was an adventurer; Polo was a philosopher; and Morgan was our comedian.”

Miguel Street is written like a series of short stories with each chapter telling the tale of the various characters who lived there. The stories were short but entertaining and engaging and you will find yourself amazed by some of the nonsense that went on on Miguel street but also just smiling and laughing at the ridiculousness of persons like Man-Man or Uncle Bhakcu 😳 It is set in Trinidad during the 1940s around the time of World War II and the story is told by one of the neighborhood boys 🧍🏾 who macos everything that is going on on the street 👁👁

There were so many memorable stories but my favorites were the tales of Man-Man (the Mad man), Big Foot (the Coward), Uncle Bhakcu (the Mechancial Genius) and Hat (the Adventurer) 😂 🤣 After reading this book, I felt like I have lived on Miguel Street myself as the descriptions were so realistic and you feel as thou you can recognize these people as persons you meet in everyday life in Trinidad and Tobago 🙂 Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:

“I suppose Laura holds a world record. Laura had eight children. There is nothing surprising in that. These eight children had seven fathers. Beat that!”

“Big Foot was really big and really black, and everybody in Miguel Street was afraid of him….. People were afraid of him because he was so silent and sulky; he looked dangerous, like those terrible dogs that never bark but just look at you from the corner of their eyes.”

“There were many reasons why I wanted to be like Eddoes when I grew up. He was one of the aristocrats of the street. He drove a scavenging cart and so worked only in the mornings.”

Miguel Street is one of V.S. Naipaul’s most popular books. Mr. Naipaul is one of the most celebrated authors from Trinidad and Tobago. In 2001 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 🏆🥇 Some of his other popular books include A House for Mr. Biswas and A Bend in the River. What is your favorite book from V.S. Naipaul? Have you read Miguel Street already? What did you think of this book? 😃

Thanks for reading. Feel free to like, comment or share 😁

Much Love

Celly