In V. S. Naipaul's recent novels, there has been an increasing sense of displacement, abandonment, and denial of hope, although to a certain extent these themes have been present since his earliest work.

Rootless, yet overpowered by the need to discover their own special niches in the universe, Naipaul's recent protagonists have wandered through alien geographies—foreign states on the verge of collapse, in no way capable of offering a sense of comfort or solace to these weary individuals….

In Naipaul's newest novel, A Bend in the River, the pattern is much the same, though, if anything, purified even further, reduced almost to the archetypal level….

The story gives the impression of déjà vu; we have read it all before in hundreds of other novels, yet there is a convincingness to Naipaul's version that has often been lacking in the works of lesser writers and in some...