Beyond the Dragon's Mouth: Stories and Pieces is a collection of Shiva Naipaul's journalism and stories prefaced by a short memoir, published by Hamish Hamilton in 1984.
The first part consists of a short memoir in which Naipaul writes about his childhood in Trinidad, the Dragon's Mouth in the title referring to the curious shape of the harbour through which he would set sail for Britain and Oxford University.
The second part consists of his short stories, such as The Man of Mystery, set in Trinidad.
The last part showcases his engaging journalism, both at home in England and around the globe, from cities such as Bombay (including coverage of the death of Sanjay Gandhi), Tehran in the last days of the Shah, and being forced to stay sober during Ramadan in Marrakesh, as well as more rural areas such as Bihar.
His pieces on England are more personal than anything written about England by his more famous brother, the Nobel Laureate V S Naipaul, such as his account of enduring prejudice while looking for lodging in London during the 1960s. Living in Earl's Court was reproduced as part of an anthology of Black British Writing. Also included is his piece about Ugandan Asians relocating to a hostile Britain.
Famous quotes containing the words dragon, stories and/or pieces:
“And then at last our bliss
Full and perfect is,
But now begins; for from this happy day
The old Dragon underground,
In straiter limits bound,
Not half so far casts his usurped sway,
And, wroth to see his kingdom fail,
Swinges the scaly horror of his folded tail.”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“The return of the asymmetrical Saturday was one of those small events that were interior, local, almost civic and which, in tranquil lives and closed societies, create a sort of national bond and become the favorite theme of conversation, of jokes and of stories exaggerated with pleasure: it would have been a ready- made seed for a legendary cycle, had any of us leanings toward the epic.”
—Marcel Proust (1871–1922)
“Joy has no cause:
Though cut to pieces with a knife,
Cannot keep silence. What else should magnetize
Our drudging, hypocritical, ecstatic life?”
—Philip Larkin (1922–1986)