A Bend in the River - V. S. Naipaul

V and S go for two impossible indian names (Vidia seems to be the familiar approach). The Nobel winner Naipaul was at his best when he published this book. It's the story of Salim, born in the west coast of Africa (and always a foreigner in the continent) when he moves to live as a merchant in that bend of a big river in central Africa. There were the first years after the ending of the european (presumably belgian) colonization. Masterfully written portrait of the place, the people and the times.