Length10h 45m
About this audiobook
This incandescent novel chronicles both an internal journey and a physical trek into the heart of Africa, a place caught between the dangerously alluring modern world and its own tenacious past and traditions. Exploring political and individual corruption, it expresses skepticism about the ability of newly decolonized nations to forge independent identities.
Salim, a Muslim Indian merchant, opens a store in a sleepy small town at a bend in the river, whose inhabitants include a Belgian priest, a witch, and a white intellectual named Raymond. The president of the new country is a demagogue called the Big Man who hires Raymond as his speechwriter. Salim loses control of his store to the commercially inexperienced Citizen Theotime, who hires Salim to manage it. Gradually, the town's veneer of civilization begins to crumble.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.8 (24.4K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, Amazon, StoryGraph
GenreFantasy
Length10 hrs 45 mins
Narrated bySimon Vance
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateSep 1, 2004
LanguageEnglish
More from V. S. Naipaul
The Nightwatchman’s Occurrence Book, and Other Comic InventionsV. S. Naipaul19h 39m4.0 (204)$30
Miguel StreetV. S. Naipaul5h 47m4.1 (8.3K)$20
A Way in the WorldV. S. Naipaul11h 40m3.7 (803)$23
GuerrillasV. S. Naipaul10h 26m3.5 (1.8K)$23
The Mystic MasseurV. S. Naipaul7h 34m3.8 (2K)$20
India: A Million Mutinies NowV. S. Naipaul24h 46m4.0 (2.6K)$30
A Writer’s PeopleV. S. Naipaul5h 21m3.5 (398)$14
An Area of DarknessV. S. Naipaul10h 1m3.9 (7.3K)$20 · $0.00
India: A Wounded CivilizationV. S. Naipaul6h 41m3.9 (2.4K)$17
The Enigma of ArrivalV. S. Naipaul13h 7m3.8 (3.4K)$23
Half a LifeV. S. Naipaul7h 7m3.4 (6.7K)$20 · $0.00
In a Free StateV. S. Naipaul9h 3m3.7 (6K)$20
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Before the Coffee Gets Cold: A Toshikazu Kawaguchi Book SetToshikazu Kawaguchi18h 55m4.5 (1.4K)$40 · $0.00
The Song of AchillesMadeline Miller11h 15m4.3 (2.3M)$29 · $0.00
The Left and the LuckyWilly Vlautin6h 40m4.4 (1.1K)$24 · $0.00
Hunt of the DragonJuliette Cross9h 46m4.4 (736)$20
Deadly GameChristine Feehan13h 20m4.3 (15.8K)$30
Treasure Island (Adventure Classic with Illustrations)Robert Louis Stevenson8h 50m4.5 (11.2K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lola in the MirrorTrent Dalton13h 40m4.5 (43.9K)$33 · $0.00
Going PostalTerry Pratchett13h 36m4.5 (163.8K)$33 · $0.00
The Leo Tolstoy CollectionLeo Tolstoy9h 1m4.5 (4.9K)$12 · $0.00
Sword and ShadowMichelle Sagara16h 51m4.5 (2.2K)$40 · $0.00
A Tree Grows in BrooklynBetty Smith14h 55m4.4 (577.6K)$33 · $0.00
Dark GuardianChristine Feehan12h 32m4.5 (26.3K)$33 · $0.00
The Neil Gaiman ReaderNeil Gaiman27h 3m4.5 (3.2K)$53 · $0.00
The HobbitJ. R. R. Tolkien10h 51m4.4 (4.9M)$12 · $0.00
Bad HabitAlana S. Portero5h 37m4.4 (52.3K)$24 · $0.00
Science Fiction & Fantasy CollectionH. P. Lovecraft16h 32m4.5 (2.7K)$2 · $0.00
The Undead PoolKim Harrison16h 13m4.4 (34.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Edge of DawnBeverly Jenkins10h 15m4.5 (1.1K)$29 · $0.00
You may also like
The Capital of DreamsHeather O'Neill10h3.7 (2.4K)$29 · $0.00
GoliathMax Blumenthal22h 19m4.3 (1.6K)$30
What Is the WhatDave Eggers20h 28m4.3 (90.3K)$30
The MandiblesLionel Shriver13h 46m3.7 (16.4K)$33 · $0.00
My Disillusionment in RussiaEmma Goldman5h 46m4.2 (901)$3
One Bright MoonAndrew Kwong12h 21m4.5 (813)$29 · $0.00
We Crossed a Bridge and It TrembledWendy Pearlman6h4.6 (5.2K)$24 · $0.00
DrownedNichola Reilly8h 47m3.7 (1K)$20 · $0.00
World in BetweenKenan Trebincevic, Susan Shapiro8h 47m4.4 (443)$29 · $0.00
Lion of the SkyRitu Hemnani4h 22m4.1 (291)$20 · $0.00
Stalin's DaughterRosemary Sullivan19h 43m4.2 (7.2K)$40 · $0.00
South to AmericaImani Perry16h 33m4.1 (10.7K)$40 · $0.00
The Island at the End of EverythingKiran Millwood Hargrave5h 55m4.3 (4.7K)$17
The Secret Wife of Aaron BurrSusan Holloway Scott17h 55m4.2 (6.8K)$30 · $0.00
Dark Age AheadJane Jacobs5h 43m3.8 (2.4K)$17 · $0.00
Fly, Wild SwansJung Chang10h 21m3.9 (2.1K)$29 · $0.00
A Physicists Labour In War And PeaceE W Kellermann8h 41m$7 · $0.00
The Indian New Deal: How the 1934 Reorganization Act Remade Tribal NationsMarcus Delacroix4h 33m$6
Escape from KabulEnakshi Sengupta6h 25m4.5 (15)$20 · $0.00
Mother Ocean Father NationNishant Batsha11h3.9 (875)$29 · $0.00