R.K. Narayan is often compared to William Faulkner, is one of the greatest and celebrated novelists in India, who is distinguished for his simple and unpretentious English writing style. This master tale-teller was born on October 10, 1906 in Madras, now referred as Chennai and died there on May 31 in 2001. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature various times, although has not won the honor yet. Began with his First novel Swami and Friends in 1935, the author has mostly represented the essence of ordinary life. He has rarely addressed political concerns and is a traditional teller of tales. Truly a creator of authentic fiction incorporated with humor, gentleness and warmth. In the year 1958, the work of Narayan, The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor.
Here below, are three of his famous works which deserves a special mention. So in order to give a tribute to this celebrated English novelist, I would like to throw a light on his three famed literary works.
Malgudi Days
It is a collection of 32 short and humorous stories, in which the author has perfectly described about the daily life in South India that too with an imaginary town, Malgudi but through his narration, the author perfectly convinces a reader to believe it. The tales I Malgudi Days will render you the scent and sounds of the villages which will take you in the scene and feel as one of the character in the story, marking it as the secret behind the success of this immensely popular book. The author has given a fair justice in revealing the essence of India and of human experience.
The book is an extra ordinary creation and is a must read. If you have not read it yet, the guys you are missing out something very valuable. The book is available at Lelobooks at attractive price.
The Guide
"There are writers—Tolstoy and Henry James to name two—whom we hold in awe, writers—Turgenev and Chekhov—for whom we feel a personal affection, other writers whom we respect—Conrad for example—but who hold us at a long arm's length with their 'courtly foreign grace.' Narayan (whom I don't hesitate to name in such a context) more than any of them wakes in me a spring of gratitude, for he has offered me a second home. Without him I could never have known what it is like to be Indian."—Graham Greene
The Guide is one of his most fascinating books, opens up with a comic look at the life of a scoundrel, but with the turning of pages it progresses into something drastically different. It should be noted that Narayan is not a devout Hindu, and has accused Westerners of wrongly supposing that all Indians are deeply spiritual beings; but it is also true that he was deeply impressed by some experiences he had with a medium after the sudden death of his young wife (described movingly in The English Teacher (1945).
In this novel, Narayan has avowed that the incident of the reluctant holy man which happens in the story was based on a real event that he read about in the newspaper. The story opens with a prisoner - just released from prison, who was a former Indi’s corrupt tourist guide and searches for safe haven in a deserted temple. He then mistakenly plays a part f a holy man and turns out to be successful as God himself intervenes to put Raju's newfound sanctity to the test.
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