Shiva Naipaul
Personal Information
Description
Shiva Naipaul was born in Trinidad. He was the younger brother of V.S. Naipaul. Following in his older brother's footsteps, he studied at University College Oxford obtaining a degree in Chinese studies. The younger Naipaul wrote five books before his untimely death in 1985 at the age of 40. The Chip Chip Gatherers, Fireflies and A Hot Country are works of fiction. His non-fiction works include North and South and Black and White. A collection of fiction and travel pieces entitled Beyond the Dragon's Mouth was published in 1984.
Books
Fireflies
Anthology of brief "prose poems" by Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), first published in 1928. Tagore wrote: "Fireflies had their origin in China and Japan where thoughts were very often claimed from me in my hand-writing on fans and pieces of silk." Tagore may have been influenced by Japanese haiku poetry. "Fireflies" has also been described as a collection of meditations.