(Trinidad Guardian) Former United States President Barack Obama has listed A House for Mr Biswas by Trinidad-born Nobel laureate Sir VS Naipaul among the list of best books he read this year.
Since his time as POTUS, Obama has provided a year-end list of book’s movies and music that he found “most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved” during the course of the year.
This year it was no different as Obama posted the list on his Facebook page on Friday.
“As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favourite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists,” he wrote.
“It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to highlight talented authors, artists, and storytellers—some who are household names and others who you may not have heard of before. Here’s my best of 2018 list—I hope you enjoy reading, watching, and listening,” Obama wrote.
This is the second time Naipaul’s book has made it on an FB status by Obama this year.
When Naipaul, 85, passed away in London on August 11, Obama revisited the “old classic.”
On August 19 Obama posted: “One of my favourite parts of summer is deciding what to read when things slow down just a bit, whether it’s on a vacation with family or just a quiet afternoon. This summer I’ve been absorbed by new novels, revisited an old classic, and reaffirmed my faith in our ability to move forward together when we seek the truth”.
“With the recent passing of VS Naipaul, I reread A House for Mr Biswas, the Nobel Prize winner’s first great novel about growing up in Trinidad and the challenge of post-colonial identity,” he wrote.
On Friday, Naipaul’s classic again was referenced by Obama as he gave a reminder of the books that I read this year that appeared on earlier lists.
Obama’s post on Friday garnered more than 215,000 reactions.
