A House for Mr Biswas

Mr. Biswas (and that is his name, even when he is a little boy) is cursed from birth. The fortuneteller when he is born predicts a terrible life for him and every prediction comes true. Mr. Biswas inadvertently causes the death of his father. He has great difficulty finding a way to make a living and he struggles, moving from unsuccessful job to unsuccessful job. Mr. Biswas is tricked into an unhappy marriage. He has great problems connecting with his in-laws, his siblings, his mother, his wife, his neighbors, and even his children. Throughout all his life, his one dream is to obtain a house of his own and this dream proves to be the most elusive of all.

I purchased my copy of Biswas over ten years ago, after reading A Bend in the River for class and finding this on the Modern Library top 100 list. I found this to be a solid story but I never completely fell into the plot or characters, which made it easy to put down. The writing is solid, but the plot felt a bit like wandering and I didn't feel sympathetic toward any of the characters.