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Memories of Malgudi
Excellent reviews of the five novels in this The Dark Room, The English Teacher, Waiting for the Mahatma, The Guide, the World of Nagaraj. ed by S. irshnan. includes critical introdc.
779 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
R.K. Narayan
143 books1,931 followersR. K. Narayan is among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists who wrote in English.
R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there. In 1958 Narayan's work The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor.
In addition to his novels, Narayan has authored five collections of short stories, including A Horse and Two Goats, Malguidi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree, two travel books, two volumes of essays, a volume of memoirs, and the re-told legends Gods, Demons and Others, The Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. In 1980 he was awarded the A.C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Most of Narayan's work, starting with his first novel Swami and Friends (1935), captures many Indian traits while retaining a unique identity of its own. He was sometimes compared to the American writer William Faulkner, whose novels were also grounded in a compassionate humanism and celebrated the humour and energy of ordinary life.
Narayan who lived till age of ninety-four, died in 2001. He wrote for more than fifty years, and published until he was eighty seven. He wrote fourteen novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of travelogues and collections of non-fiction, condensed versions of Indian epics in English, and the memoir My Days.
-Wikipedia & Amazon.co.uk
R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there. In 1958 Narayan's work The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor.
In addition to his novels, Narayan has authored five collections of short stories, including A Horse and Two Goats, Malguidi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree, two travel books, two volumes of essays, a volume of memoirs, and the re-told legends Gods, Demons and Others, The Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. In 1980 he was awarded the A.C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
Most of Narayan's work, starting with his first novel Swami and Friends (1935), captures many Indian traits while retaining a unique identity of its own. He was sometimes compared to the American writer William Faulkner, whose novels were also grounded in a compassionate humanism and celebrated the humour and energy of ordinary life.
Narayan who lived till age of ninety-four, died in 2001. He wrote for more than fifty years, and published until he was eighty seven. He wrote fourteen novels, five volumes of short stories, a number of travelogues and collections of non-fiction, condensed versions of Indian epics in English, and the memoir My Days.
-Wikipedia & Amazon.co.uk
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January 23, 2024Memories Of Malgudi Brings Together Five Unforgettable Novels From The Narayan Corpus. The Dark Room, The First Novel In This Collection, Is The Story Of The Marital Discord Between Savitri, A Traditional Hindu Wife, And Ramani, Her Husband. The English Teacher Is About Another Young Couple: Krishna And His Wife, Susila. Their World Is Full Of Love And Laughter, But When Susila Passes Away, Krishna Must Deal With The Tragic Blow And Find A Reason To Go On Living. In The World Of Nagaraj, Narayan S Final Novel, Nagaraj S Life Of Small Comforts Is Rudely Interrupted By The Arrival Of His Nephew Tim, And He Struggles To Fend Off The Turbulence Which Threatens To Disrupt His World Forever. Sriram, The Hero Of Waiting For The Mahatma, Is In Love With The Enchanting Bharati, But Her Primary Loyalty Is To Gandhiji And His Ideals. Sriram Becomes A Follower Of The Mahatma Himself, But Finds Himself Adapting The Great Man S Ideas To Suit His Own Petty Ends. And In The Guide, Narayan S Award-Winning Novel, Raju The Guide Takes A Roller-Coaster Ride Through Life He Falls In Love With The Beautiful Dancer Rosie, Seduces Her Away From Her Husband, Transforms Her Into A Celebrity But Then Falls Out With Her. Finally, Through A Series Of Ironical Events, He Becomes A Well-Respected Holy Man. The Last In Penguin India S Series Of Collectors Editions Of R.K. Narayan S Novels, Memories Of Malgudi Showcases The Best Of The Master Storyteller S Oeuvre.
October 16, 2013
An engrossing read - it is possible that this has much to do with similarity in cultural background that I share with the locales in the stories. One point against the publisher / book store (Odyssey at Adyar, Chennai) is that I have received a defective copy with a significant number of pages missing at a critical point in the world of Nagaraj story.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews