Three Novels: The Mystic Masseur, the Suffrage of Elvira, Micuel Street

This Omnibus Edition includes V. S. Naipaul's first three books: 1) The Mystic Masseur (1957), Naipaul's first book, traces the astonishing metamorphosis of Ganesh Ramsumair from failed schoolteacher to village masseur to enlightened mystic to unshamable entrepreneur to peerless politician to the most popular man in Trinidad; 2) The Suffrage of Elvira (1958) is a comedy of errors in which the democratization of a small Trinidadian village becomes the occasion of an "election bacchanal" as Mr. Surujpat Harbans, candidate, woos the local leaders and finds himself paying dearly - in cash! - for their support; and 3) Miguel Street (1959) gives us, through the perceptions of a young boy, the street life and local legend of a Port of Spain slum. We meet Laura, perpetually pregnant; Popo, the carpenter, who works constantly at building "the thing without a name"; Man-man, who arranges his own crucifixion; Big Foot, the neighborhood strongman, who disgraces Miguel street when he turns professional bully; Bogart, the bigamist.... and many others. These three novels project a comic vision as brilliant and original as the disturbing, darker vision of Naipaul's later novels. When first published, these works heralded an unmistakably important new literary artist who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001.