Trinidadian · 1932–2018
V.S. Naipaul won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001 for "having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works that compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories." Born in Trinidad to an Indian family, he made his career in England and traveled the world. "A House for Mr. Biswas" (1961) is his masterpiece. "A Bend in the River" (1979) and "In a Free State" (1971) continue his investigation into displacement and colonial aftermath. His views were controversial; his prose was exact.