What do you think?
Rate this book
Writerly Life
BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.
- GenresIndia
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
7 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
R.K. Narayan
143 books1,934 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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 29, 2020
There are so many things to do in this world, and invariably it feels like I was living under the rock when a lot of things are just assumed that I must have done. Having knowledge of Malgudi Days or general works of RK Narayan is one such a thing. If you are even a casual reader from India, you are assumed to have read RK Narayan's work. Sadly, I had not yet read any of his books. To amplify that embarrassment, I picked this book assuming this is about writing with some related advice in it. I was mistaken.
The Writerly Life is a collection of many of RK Narayan's writings. This includes essays written for a column in The Hindu in the 1930s. It also contains his diary when he travelled in the United States. Then there are again some essays written later in life. The book ends with a collection of thoughts penned around certain subjects which come hand in hand with the profession of writing. At ~500 pages it is a good compilation of works which help us understand the person behind the author who created a quaint south Indian village of Malgudi.
For someone who has read his works before and who already admires the author, this collection, which is thoroughly non-fiction, will help understand him better and get to know him beyond the author of the books already loved. Since I had no background of his books, it was a neutral experience for me.
The biggest takeaway for me was the historical anecdotes which are strewn everywhere in these essays. You get to sample those decades from his experiences. The entries from his Dateless Diary, which contains his travelogues when we travelled to the United States in 1956, are the most memorable and enjoyable. For someone from a traditional, simple state of Mysore, 50's USA must have been a cultural phase shift. This shows in his intrigue and bewilderment in many of the entries. Finding pure vegetarian food options was a persistent problem too. He interacted with multiple publishers, movie actors, university professors during his stay in the States. This has made those diary entries quite varied and they touch upon different subjects like the education system in the western universities to experiences of suburban life in the States.
Towards the end, there are longer articles which speak about the world of a writer. The impact of fame in day to day life, the impact of the socio-political landscape on his later years' works. These longer essays also talk about the English language in India, the British Raj and its aftermath. That is another memorable section of the book.
The essays make a major section of the book and I found myself dragging through those. I felt most of the essays have a tone of complaining or how he dislikes something or the other. These dislikes are presented very mildly, but still essay after essay you keep wondering what actual value you are getting out of his opinions which at times feel like they are written to meet the demands of the newspaper weekly column.
If you are already familiar with and enjoy RK Narayan's works, this collection will add a lot of value for you. You will enjoy knowing him as a person. For others, this book is worth a casual read, especially the diary and the last section, 'The World of the Writer'.
After reading this, I am going to check out Malgudi Days for sure, YouTube has all those episodes. :)
PS. Apparently, he really hates Dev Anand's film adaptation of his book 'The Guide'. He has made it quite clear in numerous articles :)
The Writerly Life is a collection of many of RK Narayan's writings. This includes essays written for a column in The Hindu in the 1930s. It also contains his diary when he travelled in the United States. Then there are again some essays written later in life. The book ends with a collection of thoughts penned around certain subjects which come hand in hand with the profession of writing. At ~500 pages it is a good compilation of works which help us understand the person behind the author who created a quaint south Indian village of Malgudi.
For someone who has read his works before and who already admires the author, this collection, which is thoroughly non-fiction, will help understand him better and get to know him beyond the author of the books already loved. Since I had no background of his books, it was a neutral experience for me.
The biggest takeaway for me was the historical anecdotes which are strewn everywhere in these essays. You get to sample those decades from his experiences. The entries from his Dateless Diary, which contains his travelogues when we travelled to the United States in 1956, are the most memorable and enjoyable. For someone from a traditional, simple state of Mysore, 50's USA must have been a cultural phase shift. This shows in his intrigue and bewilderment in many of the entries. Finding pure vegetarian food options was a persistent problem too. He interacted with multiple publishers, movie actors, university professors during his stay in the States. This has made those diary entries quite varied and they touch upon different subjects like the education system in the western universities to experiences of suburban life in the States.
Towards the end, there are longer articles which speak about the world of a writer. The impact of fame in day to day life, the impact of the socio-political landscape on his later years' works. These longer essays also talk about the English language in India, the British Raj and its aftermath. That is another memorable section of the book.
The essays make a major section of the book and I found myself dragging through those. I felt most of the essays have a tone of complaining or how he dislikes something or the other. These dislikes are presented very mildly, but still essay after essay you keep wondering what actual value you are getting out of his opinions which at times feel like they are written to meet the demands of the newspaper weekly column.
If you are already familiar with and enjoy RK Narayan's works, this collection will add a lot of value for you. You will enjoy knowing him as a person. For others, this book is worth a casual read, especially the diary and the last section, 'The World of the Writer'.
After reading this, I am going to check out Malgudi Days for sure, YouTube has all those episodes. :)
PS. Apparently, he really hates Dev Anand's film adaptation of his book 'The Guide'. He has made it quite clear in numerous articles :)
April 19, 2014
Malgudi..!! Thats the name that pops in the head when one reads 'R K narayan'.
We all know about great works of great writers, but very little do we get the chance to get acquainted with the writer's likes/dislikes, his nature, his outlook on various issues, in short, the writer himself.
Well if you want to know the writer you admire, this is a must read.
I enjoyed the dateless diary the most, which is about his stay in America, esp. the note on Grand Canyon, simply amazing.
The best thing about collection of essays is that it has so much to offer with a wide range of topics that there is no sense of monotony at all.
Loved it...!!
We all know about great works of great writers, but very little do we get the chance to get acquainted with the writer's likes/dislikes, his nature, his outlook on various issues, in short, the writer himself.
Well if you want to know the writer you admire, this is a must read.
I enjoyed the dateless diary the most, which is about his stay in America, esp. the note on Grand Canyon, simply amazing.
The best thing about collection of essays is that it has so much to offer with a wide range of topics that there is no sense of monotony at all.
Loved it...!!
Read
January 23, 2024When R.K. Narayan Passed Away Last Year At The Age Of Ninety-Four, Tributes Poured In From Fans And Admirers, Celebrating The Art Of This Master Storyteller Who Has Often Been Described As India'S Greatest English Language Writer. Narayan Is Better Known For His Novels Set In The Fictional South Indian Town Of Malgudi, But His Essays Are As Delightful And Enchanting As Any Of His Novels. This Collection Begins With The Short Essays Which Narayan Wrote As A Weekly Contribution To The Hindu, The Subjects Of Which Are As Diverse As Umbrellas, Weddings, Monkeys, South Indian Coffee, Films, The Black Market, Old Age, The Caste System, Gardening And Vayudoot. The Later, Longer Essays Dwell On The Cultural Ambiguities That Persist In Our Nation: Narayan S Description Of The Linguistic Confusion Between The North And The South With The Advent Of National Television Is Reminiscent Of The Misunderstood Messages In His Famous Story 'A Horse And Two Goats'. The Highlight Of This Section Is A Scathingly Funny Essay On The Making Of The Film The Guide, A Project That Distorted Narayan S Narrative Beyond Recognition. In A Separate Section On The World Of The Writer, Narayan Describes The Predicament Of Writing In English In India, An Art Which He Pioneered, And The Pitfalls Of Being Considered For The Nobel Prize In Literature Which He Never Got. This Volume Also Includes The Complete Text Of My Dateless Diary, Narayan S Jottings About His Travels In America When He Was In The Process Of Writing The Guide. As He Journeys Across The Vast Continent On A Diet Of Rice And Yoghurt And Without The Aid Of An Alarm Clock, Narayan Recounts A Myriad Memorable Moments, From His Encounter With The Mysterious Greta Garbo To The Evening Gathering Where He Is Hailed As One Of The Three Greatest Living Authors In The World. Taken Together, These Writings Provide A Fascinating Glimpse Into The Private World Of One Of The Most Gifted Writers Of Our Time, And Reveal The Ways In Which Narayan Was Able To Convert The Small And Ordinary Things Of Everyday Life Into Memorable Literary Anecdotes.
July 27, 2020
It is not everyday that you can come across such a delightful book. R K Narayan’s writing is “calming” - simple , straight and profound !!
Of late, I have read many books - fiction and non-fiction - where one gets the impression of the author wresting with the narrative and the Reader too feels he or she is swimming upstream against the current.
Reading RK is like floating lazily, with sun in your face , in a swimming pool ; gently rocked by ripples with RK sitting on the edge with his legs dipped in the water talking to you, smiling often with a twinkle in his eyes. PG Wodehouse also wrote like RK. The same gentle, humorous inoffensive, tongue-in-cheek language. PG’s “Wodehouse on Wodehouse” is a masterpiece of his essays.
It is set of essays on everything. The articles span four decades 1950s to 1990s. It is like the iconic common-man of RK Laxman speaking out his views from Crowds to Headache to Coffee to Elections to Monkeys to Writers !! There is also RK Narayan’s dairy of his extended tour of the US when he wrote “the Guide” while staying in a hotel in Berkeley .
A must read !!! 517 pages that read like butter and one feels the book is short !!
Of late, I have read many books - fiction and non-fiction - where one gets the impression of the author wresting with the narrative and the Reader too feels he or she is swimming upstream against the current.
Reading RK is like floating lazily, with sun in your face , in a swimming pool ; gently rocked by ripples with RK sitting on the edge with his legs dipped in the water talking to you, smiling often with a twinkle in his eyes. PG Wodehouse also wrote like RK. The same gentle, humorous inoffensive, tongue-in-cheek language. PG’s “Wodehouse on Wodehouse” is a masterpiece of his essays.
It is set of essays on everything. The articles span four decades 1950s to 1990s. It is like the iconic common-man of RK Laxman speaking out his views from Crowds to Headache to Coffee to Elections to Monkeys to Writers !! There is also RK Narayan’s dairy of his extended tour of the US when he wrote “the Guide” while staying in a hotel in Berkeley .
A must read !!! 517 pages that read like butter and one feels the book is short !!
July 6, 2021
Found each & every essay very engaging & filled with his typical satirical take.
This is the biggest book ever released by RKN I guess, since it comprises his entire lifetime work of essays, dating back from the 1930s when he started his career as a freelance writer till his later years in 80s/ 90s.
His other essay collections released under the following title have been consolidated into this huge complete volume edition, hence the size of the book:
The Reluctant Guru
Next Sunday
The Dateless Diary
And as usual, RKN amazes one with his reflections on various things that he notices around him during his travels along with his typical wit & humor.
Personally this is a achievement for me, as I have probably read all his works (Novels, short stories & essays) with the completion of reading of this book.
I just wished he had written more. But ofcourse, I can revisit his classics in chronological order.
This is the biggest book ever released by RKN I guess, since it comprises his entire lifetime work of essays, dating back from the 1930s when he started his career as a freelance writer till his later years in 80s/ 90s.
His other essay collections released under the following title have been consolidated into this huge complete volume edition, hence the size of the book:
The Reluctant Guru
Next Sunday
The Dateless Diary
And as usual, RKN amazes one with his reflections on various things that he notices around him during his travels along with his typical wit & humor.
Personally this is a achievement for me, as I have probably read all his works (Novels, short stories & essays) with the completion of reading of this book.
I just wished he had written more. But ofcourse, I can revisit his classics in chronological order.
October 21, 2020
This is a non-fiction which contains essays and R.K Narayan's diary called "My Dateless Diary" ."My Dateless Diary" is about his journey through USA, where he met a lot of famous and respected people and he was also in the process of writing his novel "The Guide". I had read "My Dateless Diary" before and I have enjoyed it throughly reading it the second time. The essays, I feel are a masterpiece. It is really worth admiring about this great author , how he can write about the most ordinary things in life yet not sounding banal. This book and also the autobiography "My Days" takes the reader into the life and thoughts of R.K Narayan. What I love about the two of my favourite Indian authors (Ruskin Bond and R.K Narayan) is the clarity of their thoughts and how well they are able to pen them down. This is one of those books which I can re-read any number of times. It is indeed a treasure.
April 8, 2012
This is a non-fiction book. To my own surprise its been an enjoyable read. I always thought non-fiction to be more like the self-help or heavy essay type of books. This one is definitely different.
I love the entry on how sundays are spent or how south-indians make coffee. Narayan write about the drone every day things and still makes it enjoyable for the readers.
From this book I can say two things common between me and Mr.Narayan : love for coffee and inability to cope with Math =)
I recommend this to all of you : Read it atleast once.
I love the entry on how sundays are spent or how south-indians make coffee. Narayan write about the drone every day things and still makes it enjoyable for the readers.
From this book I can say two things common between me and Mr.Narayan : love for coffee and inability to cope with Math =)
I recommend this to all of you : Read it atleast once.
March 28, 2010
a must read!
May 26, 2015
A simple book by a simple author -concerned with his simplicity and perception about life
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews