The novel was based on an unnamed African country after Independence in mid-20th Century. The story was narrated by an Indian Muslim and a shopkeeper in a small and developing city in the countries remote interior.

After the novel was released Naipaul was recognized as the ‘Magnificent Novelist’, and this novel was recognized as a ‘full-bodied masterpiece’. The novel was published under the publishing house ‘Alfred A Knopf’.

He wrote about 30 books in the work-span of 50 years. He won Bookers Prize in 1971. He received ‘Knighthood in Britain in the year 1990, later in 2001 he won ‘Nobel Prize in Literature’. He was also awarded the ‘Trinity Cross’ in the year 1990. Not only a novelist he was also a Travel Write and Essayist.

Naipaul died at the age of 85 at his home in London on August 11, 2018. His funeral took place at Kensal Green Cemetery.