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Title: The Mimic Men
Author: V. S. Naipaul
Narrator: Sam Dastor
Format: Unabridged
Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
Language: English
Release date: 03-02-17
Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks
Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes
Genres: Fiction, Literary

Publisher's Summary:
Former government minister Ralph Singh is the perpetual outsider: displaced, disillusioned, and now living in exile, Ralph reflects on his earlier life and the searing effects of colonialism. Ralph's constant estrangement sees him ever attempting to fit into various communities, only to find home in more transient spaces. Born on the tropical island of Isabella, he is one of West India's many "Mimic Men".
Booker and Nobel Prize-winning author V. S. Naipaul's sixth novel is a brutal and perceptive commentary on the postcolonial condition of the colonial man.

Members Reviews:
Mixed Themes, no cohesion
I am a confirmed Naipaul fan, but I was not overly impressed with the "Mimic Men". There seems to be 3 separate themes here that are better expressed in other novels by Naipaul. All three themes are lightly treated, disjointed, and lack cohesion. The first topic is his uncanny ability to dissect an absurd culture and acquaint the reader with the mentality of the characters within that culture. A prime example of his brilliance can be found in "Miguel Street". The second theme is racial and political turmoil faced by the colonial islanders. Here again this issue is better handled in more depth in "Guerrillas". The third subject is the "rootlessness" themes of the narrator (Naipaul), a man without a nation if you will, trying to find himself in some other culture.
Naipaul's true genius can be found in his travel journalism and storytelling novels. Try reading "A Bend in the River", "A house for Mr. Biswis", and "An Area of Darkness". Oh, and by the way, he formulates incredibly juicy sex scenes in all of his novels!

Life Escapes Me.....I Escape Life
Perhaps colonial rule in much of the world did produce mimic men. They were those who modeled themselves or at least were modeled on patterns produced for others in the "mother country". They grew up divorced from their origins and could look forward to being put down forever as "not quite the real thing" if they tried to assimilate to metropolitan society. The sweep of literature written by V.S. Naipaul, his brother Shiva, and a host of other writers from the West Indies, Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America testifies to the truth of this. But wait, can we not find anything joyful in life? Is there no hope whatsoever, despite what hand Fate deals us? What about a sense of humor? In this tale of a colonial boyhood in an island country very like the author's native Trinidad, the strongest note is always distress and failure. A boy attends school, gets good marks and is able to go to England on scholarship. There he crumbles into permanent unease, drifts helplessly, has hopeless affairs, and marries an English woman who also reeks of dissatisfaction. He takes no joy or pleasure in anything, wallowing in disappointment and a feeling of unreality (which is no doubt part of being a "mimic man"). All his relationships are fraught with either pretension or despair. He cannot accept himself or others, fears warmth and friendship, and constantly looks for the plastic trash on the beach of life. Returning to his island, Ralph Singh becomes a real estate magnate, goes into politics, wins a national election, becomes a political force, and then is pushed out, exiled at last to England. There is no spoiler alert here.