"She is no VS Naipaul" Agreed. But at 35 she sure has the potential to be. Also, I don't think it's useful, at least to me, to compare the two. Naipaul grew up with colonialism and its legacy and his work reeks of it. In the case of Desai, at least in this book, it is not as dominant a theme as it is in most if Naipual's book. My 2 cents. PS: I love reading Naipual- he is one my favorites too.