“But the airplane is a wonderful thing. You are still in one place when you arrive at the other. The airplane is faster than the heart. You arrive quickly and you leave quickly. You don't grieve too much. And there is something else about the airplane. You can go back many times to the same place. And something strange happens if you go back often enough. You stop grieving for the past. You see that the past is something in your mind alone, that it doesn't exist in real life. You trample on the past, you crush it. In the beginning it is like trampling on a garden. In the end you are just walking on ground. That is the way we have to learn to live now. The past is here." He touched his heart. "It isn't there." And he pointed at the dusty road.”
Quote by V.S. Naipaul
Work
Published in 1979 by the Nobel laureate V.S. Naipaul, this novel explores the experience of a young Indian man who leaves his home to work in a trading post in a fictional East African country navigating its transition from colonial rule to independence. The protagonist observes the social and political transformations occurring around him as modern influences collide with traditional African life. The narrative examines complex themes including the disruptions of rapid social change, the challenges of building a new nation, and the personal dislocations of those caught between different worlds. The story reflects Naipaul's characteristic nuanced observation of post-colonial societies and the human costs of political idealism colliding with reality. more
Author
You May Also Like
“Friendships are a fascinating aspect of the human experience.”