Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief
This article is written in response to the favorable critical reception that V. S. Naipaul’s writings about the Muslim world have received in mainstream western culture. Since the publication of his travel narratives, Among the Believers and Beyond Belief, Naipaul has enjoyed a reputation as an aut...
Guardado en:
Autor principal: | |
---|---|
Formato: | article |
Lenguaje: | EN |
Publicado: |
International Institute of Islamic Thought
2004
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/910883dfa6bf41c9a43e11f34d716f34 |
Etiquetas: |
Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
|
id |
oai:doaj.org-article:910883dfa6bf41c9a43e11f34d716f34 |
---|---|
record_format |
dspace |
spelling |
oai:doaj.org-article:910883dfa6bf41c9a43e11f34d716f342021-12-02T17:49:44ZGothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief10.35632/ajis.v21i1.4992690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/910883dfa6bf41c9a43e11f34d716f342004-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/499https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 This article is written in response to the favorable critical reception that V. S. Naipaul’s writings about the Muslim world have received in mainstream western culture. Since the publication of his travel narratives, Among the Believers and Beyond Belief, Naipaul has enjoyed a reputation as an authority on the Muslim world. The critical acclaim that he has received has been accompanied by official recognition, including a knighthood and the Nobel Prize for Literature. However, many critics beyond the periphery of mainstream western culture have voiced concerns about his hatred of Islam. In this article, I offer a revisionist reading of Naipaul’s most recent Islamic travel narrative, Beyond Belief, arguing that Islamophobia has been disturbingly misinterpreted as expertise. Focusing on three main literary themes – nineteenth-century literary conventions, the gothic genre, and neurosis – I expose this bigoted worldview and call for his status to be reconsidered. Wendy O’Shea-MeddourInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 21, Iss 1 (2004) |
institution |
DOAJ |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
EN |
topic |
Islam BP1-253 |
spellingShingle |
Islam BP1-253 Wendy O’Shea-Meddour Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
description |
This article is written in response to the favorable critical reception that V. S. Naipaul’s writings about the Muslim world have received in mainstream western culture. Since the publication of his travel narratives, Among the Believers and Beyond Belief, Naipaul has enjoyed a reputation as an authority on the Muslim world. The critical acclaim that he has received has been accompanied by official recognition, including a knighthood and the Nobel Prize for Literature. However, many critics beyond the periphery of mainstream western culture have voiced concerns about his hatred of Islam. In this article, I offer a revisionist reading of Naipaul’s most recent Islamic travel narrative, Beyond Belief, arguing that Islamophobia has been disturbingly misinterpreted as expertise. Focusing on three main literary themes – nineteenth-century literary conventions, the gothic genre, and neurosis – I expose this bigoted worldview and call for his status to be reconsidered.
|
format |
article |
author |
Wendy O’Shea-Meddour |
author_facet |
Wendy O’Shea-Meddour |
author_sort |
Wendy O’Shea-Meddour |
title |
Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
title_short |
Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
title_full |
Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
title_fullStr |
Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
title_full_unstemmed |
Gothic Horror and Muslim Madness in V. S. Naipaul’s Beyond Belief |
title_sort |
gothic horror and muslim madness in v. s. naipaul’s beyond belief |
publisher |
International Institute of Islamic Thought |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://doaj.org/article/910883dfa6bf41c9a43e11f34d716f34 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT wendyosheameddour gothichorrorandmuslimmadnessinvsnaipaulsbeyondbelief |
_version_ |
1718379364366680064 |