Let's Discuss V.S. Naipaul's a Bend in the River

I count this pretty among my favorite books, but there are so many troubling issues surrounding it. I think Edward Said and most of the novel's other vehement critics tend to oversimplify in their charges of racism and pro-colonialism, but leafing through Conversations W/ V.S. Naipaul today and reading some of the interviews, their viewpoints seem a little more tenable. But I still think that A Bend in the River transcends Naipaul's humanity-denying view of Africa (and the whole world, really). I should probably reread the book, but I think Said's (and others') anti-Naipaul (and ABITR) feelings are rooted more in his essays and interviews than his fiction. Thoughts?