APS TOGETHER
The Enigma of Arrival
Hosted by Amitava Kumar
Began on March 23, 2026 (30 days)
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The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul was published in March 1987. In its citation for the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he was awarded in 2001, the Swedish Academy called the book a “masterpiece” in which “Naipaul visits the reality of England like an anthropologist studying some hitherto unexplored native tribe deep in the jungle.” That was interesting, this reversal of the gaze by a postcolonial writer, but The Enigma of Arrival has fascinated me more for what the Academy had to say about Naipaul’s “inimitable voice,” disregarding genres and fashioning “a style of his own, in which the customary distinctions between fiction and non-fiction are of subordinate importance.” How to understand the book’s originality? More than one writer has talked about their response to a book that is boring and yet mesmerizing: How is the writer able to do this? I want to know. Maybe we can discuss the book’s beguiling rhythm: Is it that of nature itself, and the pace attuned to the time it takes for the narrator to heal. And all the detailed descriptions of the new landscape—is it because, as Salman Rushdie put it, “the immigrant must invent the earth beneath his feet”?
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Join us on April 21 for a virtual discussion of The Enigma of Arrival.
Amitava Kumar
is the author of several books of fiction, including the novels My Beloved Life; Immigrant, Montana; and A Time Outside This Time (all Knopf). His nonfiction books include A Foreigner Carrying in the Crook of His Arm A Tiny Bomb and Every Day I Write the Book: Notes on Style (both from Duke University Press). He teaches at Vassar College.
V. S. Naipaul
(1932-2018) was born on the island of Trinidad. In 1950, he left Trinidad to study English literature at the University of Oxford in England. He was the author of more than twenty books, including the novels A House for Mr. Biswas, In a Free State, which received the 1971 Booker Prize, and A Bend in the River. His nonfiction books include Among the Believers: An Islamic Journey and Beyond Belief: Excursions Among the Converted Peoples. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2001.
Daily Reading
Day 1 (March 23): pp. 5-14 (through "and they still looked young")
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 5-14
March 23, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 2 (March 24): pp. 15-25 (through "he was Jack's father-in-law.")
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 15-25
March 24, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 3 (March 25): pp. 25-32 (through "in his garden as a free man.")
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 25-32
March 25, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 4: (March 26) pp. 32-43 (through "and then it stopped.")
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 32-43
March 26, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 5
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 43-60 (through "concrete blocks left over from the building.")
March 27, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
pp. 60-71 ((through "shares with you.")
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 60-70
March 28, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 7 (March 29) pp. 71-81 Jack’s Garden
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 71-81
March 29, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 8 (March 30) pp. 81-94 Jack’s Garden
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 81-94
March 30, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 9 (March 31) pp. 97-109 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 97-109
March 31, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 10 (April 1) pp. 110-120 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 110-120
April 1, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 11 (April 2) pp. 120-132 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 120-132
April 2, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 12 (April 3) pp. 133-146 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 133-46
April 3, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 13 (April 4) pp. 146-158 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 146-158
April 4, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 14 (April 5) pp. 159-168 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 159-168
April 5, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 15 (April 6) pp. 169-179 The Journey
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 169-179
April 6, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 16 (April 7) pp. 183-193 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 183-193
April 7, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 17 (April 8) pp. 193-205 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 193-205
April 8, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 18 (April 9) pp. 206-218 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 206-218
April 9, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 19 (April 10) pp. 219-229 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 219-229
April 10, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 20 (April 11) pp. 230-239 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 230-239
April 11, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 21 (April 12) pp. 239-252 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 239-252
April 12, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 22 (April 13) pp. 252-260 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 252-260
April 13, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 23 (April 14) pp. 260-274 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 260-274
April 14, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 24 (April 15) pp. 274-284 Ivy
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 274-284
April 15, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 25 (April 16) pp. 287-296 Rooks
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 287-296
April 16, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 26 (April 17) pp. 296-307 Rooks
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 296-307
April 17, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 27 (April 18) pp. 308-318 Rooks
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 308-318
April 18, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 28 (April 19) pp. 318-330 Rooks
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 318-330
April 19, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 29 (April 20) pp. 330-340 Rooks
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 330-340
April 20, 2026 by Amitava Kumar
Day 30 (April 21) pp. 343-354 Ceremony of Farewell
The Enigma of Arrival, pp. 343-354
April 21, 2026 by Amitava Kumar