Grand unified books thread

[Savonarola]

I read V. S. Naipaul's "A Bend in the River" and learned that spitting on that thang with a hock tua does not work on women.  And people say there's no value in reading literature.

 

While a lot of critics that I read compare him to Conrad, it reminded me more of Kipling especially Kim.  The book is evocative and rich in detail, much like Kipling.  Also the protagonist is an outsider caught between two worlds, wholly belonging to neither and able to navigate both.  Unlike Kim, this presents a bleak view of the setting (Central Africa in this case).  I thought it was a good read (outside the mistress-beating scene, that was a little rough for me.)