It's a bit of a stretch to call this book a novel rather than a series of contemplations by a narrator that rather suspiciously reminds the reader of V.S. Naipaul himself. However, the subtle ways Naipaul explores the complex effects of setter colonialism in disparate yet connected settings like East Africa, Trinidad, Bolivia and England in multiple racial and ethnic groups is thought-provoking.

This book should really just be called "The Argument for Hospice". While it was certainly interesting and deeply moving with the personal examples, I wish the author also focused on cost and economic barriers to treatment. How many patients can afford hospice care or expensive chemotherapy/surgery? What would aging look like amongst different socioeconomic classes?