Buy used:
$6.47
FREE delivery May 20 - 24. Details
Or fastest delivery May 14 - 17. Details
Used: Acceptable | Details
Sold by ThriftBooks-Atlanta
Condition: Used: Acceptable
Comment: Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

V. S. Naipaul
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Suffrage of Elvira Paperback – January 1, 1976

by V. S. Naipaul (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
See all formats and editions
In this book, an old, comically timid and absent-minded man, Surujpat Harbans, runs for office, aided by superstition, bribes, and an aggressive compaign.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penguin Group USA
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1976
  5. Dimensions
    5.25 x 0.5 x 7.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0140029389
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0140029383
  8. See all details
Next page
Amazon First Reads | Editors' picks at exclusive prices

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Previous page
  1. The Mimic Men: A Novel
Next page

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Group USA (January 1, 1976)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140029389
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140029383
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.5 x 7.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
V. S. Naipaul

V. S. Naipaul

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
15 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

joyce m evans
5.0 out of 5 stars Too Funny
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2015
Verified Purchase
For those of you who remember the delight of following the resident's of Cannery Row and Yoknapatawpha County....here's another bunch of self important functionaries, almost all men, abusing democracy in a scrabbling backwater of Trinidad. You get inside a first attempt at the exercise of elections as locals, outsiders, missionaries (not really people, just part of the background) and animals struggle to the top of the heap while doing what they do best, keeping you laughing. This book is way too good to have gone out of print, so i grabbed several copies as gifts for friends who may not have met this bunch.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
MAE
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Why isn't this charming book still in print?
Helpful
 Report
Theodore S. Sotinsky
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021
The author could have greatly shortened the story with the same impact. Democracy as a corrupt process, as it is practiced in Trinidad in 1950, is demonstrated here at the grassroot level. To win an election a candidate must pay to obtain votes. This practise is institutionalized and accepted as simply the way things are in the world. The book simply did not have any significant impact on me, as did A House for Mr. Biswas.
Helpful
 Report
gammyraye
4.0 out of 5 stars Democracy in action
Reviewed in the United States on February 13, 2013
Contrary to my expectations, this novel was actually humorous, although it does point out a serious problem. The new democracy of Trinidad is having only its second elections (1950), and Surujpat Harbans, a Hindu, is running for office. To win he must secure the votes of the Hindus, the Moslims, and the Spanish. He has little chance of getting the Negro vote, because his opponent is a Negro. So he courts important men who have influence in the various factions, offering them jobs and favors to help him. Superstitious elements also come into play: two Jehovah's Witnesses ladies and a black dog thought to be an evil spirit. So what does he do? He buys the vote, essentially, with little favors to various segments.

Forgive me for translating this story, in my mind, to today's America. We have the Republicans, the Democrats, the Hispanic vote, the Negro vote. In Trinidad, in 1950, the differing religious elements were mostly cultural differences. In America, in 2011, the two political parties seem to be more and more aligned along religious interpretations. And if you don't think superstition comes into play, think again of the reliance some put on the Book of Revelations. And what do most people do? Follow some influential leader of their segment who tells them what to think.

Back to the novel. Naipaul's dialogue is excellent; the wheelings and dealings of various factions to gain the most benefits are funny; the conclusion is even funnier, in a dark-humor kind of way. It's a very interesting book to read.

Naipaul seems to be making a comments about the pitfalls of democracy, but perhaps I am reading that in, though I think not. I recommend reading this book and thinking about elections in the USA at the same time.

This novel has an outstanding first sentence: "That afternoon Mr Surujpat Harbans nearly killed the two white women and the black bitch."
Helpful
 Report
gokulanand singh
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2015
Verified Purchase
prompt and efficient .
Helpful
 Report
Antonio
4.0 out of 5 stars A universal story told as a fable
Reviewed in the United States on November 19, 2001
This is the first Naipaul book I've read (following Paul Theroux's "Sir Vidia's Shadow", which I highly recommend), and it has spurred me into reading more from Naipaul. Not to bring anyone into disregard, but I believe it was high time for the Nobel Committee to return to richly satisfying writers of a monumental girth (such as Naipaul, Saramago or Garcia Marquez, to name just some of the more recent ones) when choosing its literature prize winners.
To the Suffrage of Elvira, then. The story is a simple one, very charmingly told. "Pat" Harbans is a man on the verge of old age who, mainly to be in a position to benefit from public works contracts (roadworks)decides to stand as a candidate for MP for the region of Elvira, Caroni District. It is 1950, the second election after Trinidad's independence from Britain, and in Elvira there are 8,000 voters, of which the majority are of Hindu origin, with a few Muslim, Black and "Spanish" ones thrown in. Mr. Harbans is traveling to the town of Elvira to visit Baksh (a rambunctious tailor who is seen as the leader of the Muslim group) and Chittanrajan (a rich goldsmith, who leads the Hindu faction). His hope is to get Baksh's and Chittanrajan's support, thus ensuring his final victory in the elections. During the trip everything seems to go wrong. Harbans runs over a dog and almost hits two American Jehova's Witnesses on bikes. He sees these events as an ill omen, and he is not mistaken. In Elvira he is forced to pay through the nose, as all his future constituents take him for a ride that doesn't end until the end of the book. He is forced to appoint Baksh's son, Foam, as campaign manager and to agree to his son's marriage to Chittanrajan's daughter. He is forced to open an account at Ramlogan's run shop for his supporters, and is eventually forced to pay for the privilege of visiting ill Hindu voters, for the burial of a political opponent, and for a motorcade on election day. Everyone, and not the least Harbans (who is not at all suited for the rigours of a campaign, who hates to talk in public and easily falls into depression) is flawed. Harbans's main opponent is a black candidate, nicknamed Preacher (who comes across mainly as a religious fanatic), and the chief of Preacher's campaign is a confidence man named Lorkhoor. I won't tell much more, not to spoil the pleasure of future readers, but suffice to say that even the more appealing characters (Foam and Chittanrajan) are not without their blemishes. This is small town, third world life, warts and all. And the election is absolutely true to life, and not only for Trinidad, but also for many other similar regions. I am not Trinidadian but Colombian, and I could recognize all the characters portrayed.
Naipaul is Swiftian, but not as acerbic as would be the case in his future works. The election (and, indeed, democracy) is a mockery, and, while everyone tries to take advantage of everyone else, the strong prevail whereas the weak fall by the side, not without having inflicted some damage as a price for their destitution. No one is too weak to spit and bite and even the big beasts sometimes have to retreat (although they win in the end).
The book is funny and probably was very difficult to write in spite of its short length. I regretted not knowing what happened with the Jehova's Witnesses in the end, and I think Naipaul could have given Preacher a bit more of air time. But otherwise, I have no complaints. Read this book. "Do your part, vote the heart".
6 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Holger Kruppe
5.0 out of 5 stars Wortwitz kommt erst in der englischen Originalausgabe zum Vorschein
Reviewed in Germany on September 29, 2017
Verified Purchase
wir hatten zuerst angefangen die Deutsche Übersetzung zu lesen, mussten aber feststellen, dass der eigentlich Sprachwitz mit der Übersetzung verloren geht. Wer also des Englischen mächtig ist, der sollte das Original lesen, das ist dann wirklich lustig, eben von einem brillanten (Nobelpreis-) Erzähler.....
Report
beeps
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 8, 2015
Verified Purchase
Good book especially for people from Trinidad
Report