Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naiapaul's was born in  Chaguanas, Trinidad on August 17, 1932. Although his parents descended from Hindu immigrants from Northern India, Naipaul's inability to form spiritual connections with his heritage, be it Trinidadian, Indian, or even British, dominates his thought as it appears in his work. Naipaul has turned to his own life for material, writing of his exodus from Trinidad to England (where he took a B.A. at Oxford) in such works as The Enigma of Arrival. Writing has really been his only career, and the large number of successful novels under his name proves his time well spent.

V.S. Naipaul was first married to Patricia Hale whom he met during his education at Oxford. They were married for 41 years until her death in 1996. He then married a Pakistani journalist named Nadiru Alvi to whom he is still married. Immediately following his tenure at Oxford he was employed as a broadcaster for BBC's "Caribbean Voices." Throughout his writing career Naipaul has been the recipient of many distinguished awards. 

In 1971, Naipaul received the Booker Prize which was his first of many awards. In 1986, he received the T.S.. Eliot Award for Creative Writing. He also holds Honorary Doctorates from St. Andrews College, Columbia University, as well as The University of Cambridge. In 1990, he was honored by being knighted by Queen Elizabeth. His most distinguished honor was being selected as the Nobel Prize for Literature recipient in 2001.  

• The Mystic Masseur (1957)
• The Suffrage of Elvira (1958)
• Miguel Street (1959)
• A House for Mr. Biswas (1961)
• America (1963)
• Mr. Stone and the Knight's Companion (1963)
• An Area of Darkness (1964)
• The Mimic Men (1967)
• A Flag On The Street (1967)
• The Loss of El Dorado (1970)
• In A Free State (1971)
• The Overcrowded Barracoon and Other Articles (1972)
• Guerrillas (1975)
• India: A Wounded Civilization (1977)
• The Perfect Tenants and the Mourners (1977)
• A Bend in the River (1979)
• The Return of Eva Peron (1980)
• A Congo Diary  (1980)
• Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey (1981)
• Finding the Center (1986)
• The Enigma of Arrival (1987)
• A Turn in the South (1989)
• India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990)
• A Way in the World (1994)
• Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples (1998)

V.S. Naipaul: An Overview
http://landow.stg.brown.edu/post/caribbean/naipaul/naipaulov.html

V.S. Naipaul: Student Resources
http://occ.awlonline.com/bookbind/pubbooks/damrosch_awl/chapter7/medialib/naipaul.html

V.S. Naipaul: The Nobel Prize for Literature 2001
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/2001/press.html/naipaul-bibl.html

V.S. Naipaul: History and Critiques
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/vnaipaul.htm

V.S. Naipaul: Various Information
http://www.saja.org/roundupnaipaul.html

V.S. Naipaul: Reviews of Works
http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/07/specials/naipaul.html

V.S. Naipaul: A Singular Talent
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1593000/1593673.stm

V.S. Naipaul: Overview
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1592000/1592876.stm

V.S. Naipaul: A Singular Writer
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4252516,00.html