Fireflies (Masterplots II: British and Commonwealth Fiction Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Shiva Naipaul
- First Published: 1970
- Type of Work: Social satire
- Time of Work: The 1960’s
- Setting: Port of Spain, Trinidad
- Principal Characters: Vimla Lutchman (Baby)/SCX>, Ram Lutchman, Bhaskar, Romesh, Govind Khoja, Sumintra Khoja
- Genres: Long fiction, Satire
- Subjects: 1960’s, Family or family life, Caribbean, Power, personal or social, Race, Religion, Manners or customs, Ethnic groups, Idealism, Rites or ceremonies, Clans
- Locales: Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
The Novel
Set in Trinidad, Shiva Naipaul’s birthplace, Fireflies is a massive chronicle, in two parts, of the fortunes (good and bad) of Vimla Lutchman (nicknamed Baby). At first she is the rather passive wife of an undistinguished bus driver, but being the great-niece of the elder Mrs. Khoja, she is circumscribed by the impressive social and material background of the Khojas, one of the wealthiest, most powerful, and most important families in the region. Baby is powerless in that family, in which all veneration is paid to Govind Khoja and in which all domestic...
[The entire page is 2311 words long]
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