R.I.P.

Nobel Prize-Winning Author V.S. Naipaul Dead at 85

The prolific and controversial writer is said to have “died surrounded by those he loved” in London.

V.S. Naipaul, a Nobel Prize winning author known for his unflinching examinations of colonialism, has passed away at his home in London at the age of 85. In a statement announcing his death, his wife, Nadira Naipaul, praised the novelist as “a giant in all that he achieved” and said he’d “died surrounded by those he loved having lived a life which was full of wonderful creativity and endeavor,” according to the Associated Press. Born in Trinidad, Naipaul studied at Oxford University and ultimately spent his life in England, even being knighted in 1990. A prolific writer known for such novels as A Bend in the River and The Enigma of Arrival, Naipaul was also not without controversy, having been known to spark outrage with some of his contentious political views and misogynistic remarks.