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30+ best books by India’s favorite author R.K.Narayan
About R.K.Narayan
R.K. Narayan was the discoverer and founder of early Indian literature in English.
He is popular for his books based on a quaint and charming, fictional town called Malgudi on the banks of the Sarayu River. For his exemplary work, R.K. Narayan was awarded the Sahitya Academy award and the Padma Bhushan too.
Reading stories written by R.K.Narayan is like eating a box of chocolates, Jhumpa Lahiri says. If you can eat one chocolate every day (read one story every day for ten minutes) you can have a merry Malgudi month, so to speak. But if you get tempted and find yourself gobbling up page after page, of the story after story, rest assured you’ve become a true blue R.K. Narayan fan.
Best R.K.Narayan Books
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Best Fiction Books by R.K.Narayan
This is the story of Nataraj, who earns his living as a printer in the enchanted world of Malgudi, that slumbering Southern Indian village whose peace has been often amusingly and outrageously disturbed by Narayan.
The first book of R.K. Narayan’s famous trilogy, ‘Swami and Friends’ happens to be Narayan’s first published book as well. The setting is British India, in a fictional town named Malgudi. Swami is a ten-year-old boy who studies at a mission school. He lives with his parents, younger brother, and grandmother. He has a set of friends in two schools that he gets removed from. Events lead Swami to leave his house and go on a run. He is drawn heavily towards the unrest that is prevalent everywhere in India, but he fails to understand the cause.
Swami and Friends is a true portrayal of the complexities faced by the Indian middle class. Readers get a feeling of common humanity among the people of this country. You can feel that soul of India is one through this book. It is a funny and interesting tale of Swami and his adventures.
Narayan's 14th novel to be set in the imaginary town of Malgudi is the tale of Nagaraj, a contentedly aimless man whose only "mission" in life is to write a great treatise on the Sanskrit scholar Narada.
"The Guide" shines through among all the author's novels in that it has the more mature audience in its target audience. The twist and turns of the novel are very relatable.
The novel explores different periods in the life of the protagonist Raju, and it is this element that makes the story so much beautiful. The innocence of the child that reflects in most of his life is charming, and the readers may feel pitiful at the lack of luck, not the same as ill luck, for Raju. Many a times he is an inch away from success and yet when he fails, the gap could not be more that a sea apart and he falls from the skies to the ground.
Even the beauty of this story is amplified by the background of the evergreen fictional town Malgudi and the waters from the Sarayu river.
The apple of his eye is his son Mali, for whom he feels a deep but absurdly embarrassed affection, which appears to go unrequited. When Mali coolly announces that he is abandoning school to go to America to become a writer, Jagan's fatherly feelings are thrown into still greater confusion.
Jagan's final escape from the galling chains of paternal love comes as unexpectedly as every other twist in this delicious story.
Bizarre happenings at Malgudi are heralded by the arrival of a stranger on the Delhi train who takes up residence in the station waiting room and, to the dismay of the station master, will not leave.
Offering rare insight into the complexities of Indian middle-class society, R. K. Narayan traces life in the fictional town of Malgudi.
The Dark Room is another marvelous novel written by R. K. Narayan where rigid traditional values are upheld and held staunchly. There is irony and humor through the poignant pains of the leading female character Savitri.
A search looking at a difficult marriage and a woman who rebels against customs. The Dark Room by R.K.Narayan has acute sympathetic descriptions of the characters. It is a touching story highlighting the bare truths of the life of a woman who was totally dependent on her husband. This book was published in Indian Thought Publication in 2007 and in paperback.
The Painter of Signs tells us the story of Raman, a young painter of signboards, a bachelor who glories in his old-fashioned independence, whose work takes him all over Malgudi, and requires him to do business with some of the city's most important, as well as its most absurd, tradesmen.
Enter Daisy - an unlikely name for the ruthless but very attractive young woman who commissions Raman, on behalf of the population clinic she runs, to paint signs advocating two-child families.
They are obviously made for each other. Or are they? In this sardonic bittersweet tale of love in modern India, R. K. Narayan has created two of fiction's most endearing and unique young lovers, and an unsettling story about India at its best and worst.
Sriram is twenty. As a mark of his coming of age, his grandmother allows him the pass-book to his savings in the local bank, but Sriram is growing up in other ways, too, and an enchanting and unpredictable girl leads him into the entourage of Mahatma Gandhi.
It is a tale of remarkable insight into the upsurge of Indian nationalism as witnessed through the eyes and hearts of Sriram and Bharati, and told with the all genius and compassion we have come to expect from R K Narayan.
Weekly publications of The Banner are entirely due to two dedicated Malgudi inhabitations: Srinivas edits the newspaper, while Mr. Sampath prints it. They work night and day to satisfy the increasing demands of their clamoring public. In rare moments of relaxation, Srinivas occupies his mind puzzling over the futility of human existence, while Mr. Sampath good-naturedly shoulders all the financial burdens.
Without warming, The Banner suddenly folds. Never a character to be foiled for long, Mr. Sampath becomes involved with Sunrise Productions and ropes in Srinivas to write the film scripts. Unfortunately, the glamorous life goes to Mr. Sampath's head and chaos ensues. At times amusing, unfailingly perspicacious, R K Narayan has written a story of great distinction and charm.
Margayya is a complex and entrancing character with a flair for those fabulously involved minor financial transactions which are an integral part of Indian life.
Best Mythological Fiction by R.K.Narayan
The Ramayana is, quite simply, the greatest of Indian epics - and one of the world's supreme masterpieces of storytelling 'Almost every individual living in India,' writes R. K. Narayan in the Introduction to this new interpretation, 'is aware of the story of The Ramayana.
Here, drawing his inspiration from the work of an eleventh-century Tamil poet called Kamban, Narayan has used the talents of a master novelist to recreate the excitement and joy he has found in the original. It can be enjoyed and appreciated, he suggests, for its psychological insight, its spiritual depth, and its practical wisdom - or just as a thrilling tale of abduction, battle and courtship played out in a universe thronged with heroes, deities, and demons.
The Mahabharata is some 3,500 years old and is the longest poem in any language. It is one of the founding epics of Indian culture and, with its mixture of cosmic drama and profound philosophy it holds a unique place in world literature. In this drastically shortened prose rendering, Narayan uses all his extraordinary talents to convey to a modern reader why this is such a great story.
Assuming the character of a wise village storyteller, R.K. Narayan recounts some of the great myths and legends of India.
A hero must save the woman he loves ...
Ravana, the Supreme Lord, has enslaved all the gods. Although he now rules the world, he cannot resist a beautiful woman. When he catches a glimpse of the princess Sita, he falls under her spell and steals her away. Her beloved husband, Rama, will do anything to get her back. With the help of the brave monkey Hanuman, he journeys across the world to find her. But the evil Ravana will not give up Sita without a fight.
Short Stories and Essays By R.K Narayan
The Malgudi Days is a collection of short stories starting from Ishwaran, The Blind Dog, The Doctor’s Word, The Gateman’s Gift, The Tiger’s Claw, An Astrologer’s Day and so many more? The common theme is the setup of a tiny village and the varied variety of characters and human shades that we see in this kind of small community that is sparsely educated and far away from the influence of wealth and prosperity.
In all his stories you will find truthfulness and charm that is much beyond the writing style of any author of his times. And a surprising twist towards the end of the story that will make you read more stories from this wonderful author.
Required, the storyteller could have an audience but in this case, he wouldn't be reading from his memos but would be looking at the villagers. I much prefer the storyteller alone.
An amazing story with a twisted end. An astrologer not by profession or education but by his keen and sharp observation and instinct has mastered the business of making a profit from the vulnerabilities of human nature. But at the close of one particular day, he receives a client who is no mood for beating about the bush and wants to know his precise future.
Narayan's characters, observed with a wry and compassionate eye, come from every area of Indian society - merchants, beggars, herdsmen, hermits, teachers, and rogues - and represent in miniature a wealth of human experience.
Outstanding in this superb book is the masterpiece A Horse and Two Goats.
A delightful new collection of stories and essays, some never published before, by India's greatest living novelist. ‘Salt and Sawdust', the title story, is a witty portrayal of a wife who cannot tell the difference between salt and sawdust (when it comes to seasoning food), leaving her husband with no option but to cook himself.
Writing in this vein then he gives us humorous pieces on, among others, language, personalities, travel, government—even parrots and a hangover. Narayan's stories and sketches are, as always, infused with wit, warmth, and a wonderful timelessness making this book an essential read for all Narayan enthusiasts.
Nonfiction Books by R.K.Narayan
At the age of fifty, when most people have settled for the safety of routine, R. K. Narayan left India for the first time to travel through America. In this account of his journey, the writer's pen unerringly captures the clamor and energy of New York City, the friendliness of the West Coast, the wealth and insularity of the Mid-West, the magnificence of the Grand Canyon.
An entrancing and compelling travelogue about an endlessly fascinating land.
Narayan was born on October 10, 1906, in Madras. Narayan, the creator of Malgudi, in his simple lucid style speaks of his life in My Days. The book is in three sections - in the first, he describes his life as a lonely child growing up in his grandmother's house in Madras with a monkey, a peacock, and a parrot for companions!
The second section deals with the obstacles he encountered as a young writer, how the manuscript of his first book Swami and Friends caught the attention of Graham Greene; their lifelong friendship; his falling in love and marriage to Rajam, the birth of their daughter and the poignant tale of his wife's untimely death that left his devastated and his coming to terms with it, and his experiments with psychics. In the last section, he gives a detailed account of his overcoming the writer's block and the writing of the English Teacher.
GRANDMOTHER'S TALE, Narayan's latest work, is the story of his great-grandmother who lived in the later period of the East India Company.
Bala, the central character, was married at the early age of seven to Viswa a boy of ten. One day, he just left bidding her goodbye, joining a group of pilgrims going to Pandaripur. Years go by and there is no trace of him. Bala, now a young woman finds life extremely difficult with the entire agraharam gossiping about her husband's fate. She leaves home, determined to find him.
The delineation of Bala from an innocent schoolgirl to a firm, determined, aggressive young woman and finally to a quiet, docile, orthodox Hindu wife is fascinating!
The pick of thirty years of essays from R.K. Narayan, India’s greatest English language novelist. R.K. Narayan is perhaps better known as a novelist, but his essays are as delightful and enchanting as his stories and novels.
A Writer’s Nightmare is the marvelous result of Narayan's likes for the personal essay. In the book, he tackles subjects such as weddings, mathematics, coffee, umbrellas, teachers, newspapers, architecture, monkeys, the caste system, lovers—all sorts of topics, simple and not so simple, which reveal the very essence of India.
Never has the magical storyteller of imaginary Malgudi woven tragedy and humor so deftly together.
This autobiographical novel tells how the protagonist who loses his wife to typhoid manages to contact her spirit after her death. Although most religions and cultures believe in life after death nowhere life after death is described in such detail. The novel is also about the father-daughter relation and how after the death of his wife the protagonist takes care of his daughter as a single parent.
Collection of writings on Indian philosophy, poetics, and literature, an original volume.
Another phenomenal piece of literature from the acclaimed author of Malgudi Days and other classics, R. K. Narayan is at his poignant best in The Writerly Life. Unlike his other books, this is not fiction but a kind of memoir about his journey through the USA. The book is essentially a collection of essays and adaptations from his diary, which has also been published as My Dateless Diary.
Best Books for Children by R.K.Narayan
Malgudi Adventures is an amazing book penned by extremely talented author R. K. Narayan. After the tremendous success of Malgudi Schooldays, R. K. Narayan wrote his second masterpiece. The story is all about the escapades of Swami and his friends in the magical South Indian small town of Malgudi.
Set in India's pre-independent era, in a sleepy fictitious town, Malgudi, Malgudi Schooldays (Puffin Classics) revolves around the adventures of a typical schoolboy named Swami. His notorious gang of friends, include Mani, Somu, Samuel, Pea, Sankar, and the latest entry, Rajam. Swaminathan is a boy who shudders at the very thought of school.
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