R. K. Narayan Summary

Narayan, R. K. (1906–2001), Indian novelist. Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan (professionally R. K. Narayan) was one of India's leading novelists throughout the latter half of the twentiet... Read more

R. K. Narayan (born 1906) is one of the best-known of the Indo-English writers. He created the imaginary town of Malgudi, where realistic characters in a typically Indian setting lived amid unpredicta... Read more

In the following review, Fremantle calls Narayan's Grateful to Life and Death "a tour de force, as perfect as it is pure." Mr. Narayan's first novel, The Financial Expert, ... Read more

In the following essay, Ahluwalia discusses how Narayan's awareness of his audience influences his writing. R. K. Narayan is one of those creative writers who make a living out of their writing... Read more

In the following interview, Narayan discusses Indian writers, India, and criticism of his work. [Graubard:] What can one say, in brief compass, about Indian literature? How do you see it? [Narayan:] T... Read more

In the following review, Barr lauds Narayan's The Printer of Malgudi for its comedy and subtlety. The town of Malgudi, fermenting with dreams, is the setting R. K. Narayan has devised for his n... Read more

In the following essay, Urstad discusses Narayan's juxtaposition of modern life and Hindu mythology in the short story "Naga." R. K. Narayan is generally acknowledged as the most ... Read more

In the following excerpt, Mantel discusses the inhabitants of Narayan's The Grandmother's Tale and Selected Stories and how the author presents them with humor. Some years ago, in an ess... Read more

In the following essay, Harrex analyzes Narayan's use of comedy in The Printer of Malgudi. The Printer of Malgudi was first published as Mr. Sampath in 1949. It is not the most accomplished of ... Read more

Goyal was a book reviewer for the Hindustan Times and has published several books analyzing literature. In the following essay, he traces the metamorphosis of the main character, Raja, in Narayan�... Read more

In the following essay, Srinath asserts the importance of the fictional Malgudi in Narayan's fiction. R. K. Narayan's Malgudi has not changed much since 1935 when he wrote his first nove... Read more

Critical Essay by V. S. Naipaul "India will go on." This was what the Indian novelist R. K. Narayan said to me in London in 1961, before I had ever been to India. (p. 10) [Narayan'... Read more

Critical Essay by Peter Green Rasipuran Krishnaswami Narayan embodies in his career and writing all the necessary ambiguities of an Indian novelist who came to maturity under the British Raj…. ... Read more

Critical Essay by Perry D. Westbrook The first of R. K. Narayan's three volumes of short stories, An Astrologer's Day and Other Stories (1947), contains thirty pieces, all of which had p... Read more

Critical Essay by Joyce Carol Oates R. K. Narayan is considered one of the finest of contemporary Indian writers. He is the author of The Guide and The Vendor of Sweets, novels about a mythical town c... Read more

Critical Essay by Lakshmi Holmstrom Narayan is a comic novelist. His attitude to comedy grows out of a whole view of man's condition in the universe, and therefore the criticism of society and ... Read more

Critical Essay by M. M. Mahood 'It's the original violence which has started a cycle—violence which goes on in undying waves once started, either in retaliation or as an original ... Read more

In this essay, Jeurkar explores the three narrator-types found in Narayan's fiction: the "Talkative Man," the third-person narrator, and the omniscient narrator. Among the Indo-En... Read more

In this review of The Grandmother's Tale, Tharoor claims that the simple and straightforward style that gives Narayan's stories their charm also weakens the overall effect due to inadequ... Read more

This review of The Grandmother's Tale highlights the subtlety, elegance, gentleness, and profundity of Narayan's work. There is a saying in India, "May you always wear red,"... Read more

In this seminal essay, Westbrook focuses on the human quality of the short stories in Narayan 's first two published collections. The first of R. K. Narayan's three volumes of short stor... Read more

In the following essay, the authors review Narayan's short stories, first by collection, then by character type. R. K. Narayan, one of the most famous Indo-Anglian writers, author of Mr. Sampat... Read more

In this essay, Rao describes Narayan as somewhat of an anomaly in Indian literature: an author at peace with himself, his society and his God. He further argues that this inner peace gives Narayan the... Read more

In this essay, Naik criticizes the lack of tragic irony and imagination in Narayan's short stories, but finds that his tight form and structure result in a well-constructed story. The short sto... Read more