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| Bend in the River |
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| Central Africa |
-Brian Mendonca
A Bend in the River (1979) is a novel by V. S. Naipaul. It describes the events in the life of Salim who moves from the East Coast of Africa to Central Africa for a better life.
Naipaul was in Congo - formerly Zaire - in 1975. After spending two weeks in Kinhasa he travelled upcountry. (Preface)
The novel is set against the political turmoil in Africa and is divided into four parts:
Part I: The Second Rebellion (Chps. 1-5)
Part II: The New Domain (Chps. 6-11)
Part III: The Big Man (Chps.12-15)
Part IV: The Battle (Chps.16-17)
Part One
The opening line sets the tone of the novel, 'The world is what it is; men who are nothing, who allow themselves to become nothing, have no place in it.' (3)
In Chapter 1 we meet Salim who travels in his Peugeot car from East to Central Africa. There he is assisted by Metty who helps in his shop. Metty is 'the half-African boy' who had grown up in Salim's family on the coast and had come to join him. (I.10) The shop has been given by Nazruddin to manage. (II.22)
They meet Zabeth, an African woman from a fishing community (I.5) and her son Ferdinand. Zabeth smells of fish. (I.10) This protects her as people keep away from her. She is also seen as a magician. (I.11)
The river is described with all its 'secret channels.' (I.7) Zabeth and her women used to row their boats (dugouts) on them to the river. There they waited for the steamer (with a barge behind it) to pass by to sell their fish. It could also be a smoked snake or a small smoked crocodile. (I.7) As the steamer passed they used to throw their ropes which were tied to the barge. The boats kept trailing the steamer over part of the river route of a thousand miles. (I. 8)
Salim considers himself a foreigner to Zabeth, 'someone from the far-off coast, and an English-speaker.' (I.6), He is not comfortable in the river. 'I never liked it. I never felt in control . . . The river and the forest were like presences, and much more powerful than you. You felt unprotected, an intruder. (I.9)
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In Chapter 2 Salim talks about slavery in the east coast of Africa where his family came from. (II. 14)
He meets Shobha and Mahesh, a couple from India. 'Like me, they were migrants from the east and refugees from their own community.' (II.32) They are also called 'expatriates.' Salim visits them often to cope with being lonely. (II.31)
An uprising on the coast is mentioned where the Arabs are defeated. Metty comes into Salim's life at this time. He has seen people being killed and is shaken. (II.35) He becomes a customs clerk at Salim's shop. (II.38)
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Page references to A Bend in the River by V.S. Naipaul. London: Picador, 2011.
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