Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
11th out of 381 books
—
928 voters
Malgudi Days
Four gems, with new introductions, mark acclaimed Indian writer R. K. Narayan's centennial
Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story." Powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people, and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi...more
Introducing this collection of stories, R. K. Narayan describes how in India "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story." Powerful, magical portraits of all kinds of people, and comprising stories written over almost forty years, Malgudi...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
August 29th 2006
by Penguin Classics
(first published 1942)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
3,000)
I had really high expectations when I picked this up and, of course, I was initially disappointed. I eventually started to enjoy these short (4-6 page) stories because each has fully developed characters experiencing mini-dramas. All the stories take place in the same town and a few of the characters pop up in multiple stories. I ended up liking this and appreciating it for what it is - a thoughtful, sweet, well written collection of short stories. I was telling my mom about it and she said that...more
May 30, 2012
Joy H.
marked it as read-partially
Added 4/11/12.
Below is from a post I wrote in my GR group 4/11/12:
Just by chance I've stumbled on a good thing. Someone somewhere mentioned Malgudi Days (first published 1942) by R.K. Narayan. It's a book of engaging short stories set in India, "revealing the essence of India", as the GR description says.
I didn't think I'd be interested in reading it at first. So I did the next best thing... ordered the movie adaptation from Netflix.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244911/
http://movies.netflix.com/S...more
Below is from a post I wrote in my GR group 4/11/12:
Just by chance I've stumbled on a good thing. Someone somewhere mentioned Malgudi Days (first published 1942) by R.K. Narayan. It's a book of engaging short stories set in India, "revealing the essence of India", as the GR description says.
I didn't think I'd be interested in reading it at first. So I did the next best thing... ordered the movie adaptation from Netflix.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244911/
http://movies.netflix.com/S...more
5 likes · like · see review
Malgudi Days, written by R.K Narayan, chronicles the lives of people in the fictional town of Malgudi. The stories, which share the lives of everyone from entrepreneurs to beggars, all take place in and near this Indian village. Thus the heart and the soul of that village is on display and we find it is a place where most people are haunted by illiteracy and unemployment. Yet despite the ubiquity of the poor many of the stories come across with humorous good-natured episodes of their lives. Amon...more
In my view, this one book shows what a versatile author and story teller R K Narayan was.
Though by the time I bought this book, the Malgudi Days teleserial was completed and RKN was already etched in every youngsters mind.
However this book of short stories, left an even deeper impact on my mind.
Especially two stories I can never forget.
Eshwar & Bulldozer.
While Eshwar depicted the tragic side of the common man, Bulldozer showed the hilarious aspect. Infact it was too good not to burst out int...more
Though by the time I bought this book, the Malgudi Days teleserial was completed and RKN was already etched in every youngsters mind.
However this book of short stories, left an even deeper impact on my mind.
Especially two stories I can never forget.
Eshwar & Bulldozer.
While Eshwar depicted the tragic side of the common man, Bulldozer showed the hilarious aspect. Infact it was too good not to burst out int...more
I loved this collection of short stories - RK Narayan ranks there with Chekov . The stories captured the essence of India and spirit of her people. Having studied and travelled there , I felt nostalgic reading about the lives of the households and street denizens of the fictional yet not-so-fictional town of Malgudi. Narayan's prose also steers away from pain, suffering and verbosity that sometimes dominates many Indian works. He paints it as simple and resilient
Gerry picked this one for our Bo...more
Gerry picked this one for our Bo...more
beautifully expressed the simplicity of a typical Indian town and its day to day happenings...
What can I say about Malgudi Days? Malgudi is a fictional Indian town created by R.K. Narayan, conceived in such realistic detail that the University of Chicago Press once mistakenly put it in their atlas. But can you blame them? Most of Narayan's works take place in Malgudi, and the more you read about the place, the more you start to feel like it exists — that you might like to visit it someday, too.
"Whom next shall I meet in Malgudi? That is the thought that comes to me when I close a novel o...more
Nov 21, 2009
El
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
early20th-centurylit,
india
You won't find Malgudi on any real map, but Narayan describes the people and the location with such skill that I often forgot that I was not being transported to an authentic Indian city.
In Narayan's introduction he explains that in India "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story." He accomplishes this thought exceptionally well and introduces a variety of different characters, from a wayward student to an astrologer. The majority of the early stor...more
In Narayan's introduction he explains that in India "the writer has only to look out of the window to pick up a character and thereby a story." He accomplishes this thought exceptionally well and introduces a variety of different characters, from a wayward student to an astrologer. The majority of the early stor...more
This was a good introduction to India for me.
R.K Narayan (1906-2001, he lived a long life!) is a famous Indian author, who wrote in English.
"Malgudi Days" is filled with over twenty short stories, which include all the images we think of when we think India: fortune tellers, street performers, snake charmers, tigers, arranged marriages, overpopulation, lack of education, skin whitening, hippies, karma, pickpockets, caste system,...
Most stories include poverty, which sadly is the reality in Indi...more
R.K Narayan (1906-2001, he lived a long life!) is a famous Indian author, who wrote in English.
"Malgudi Days" is filled with over twenty short stories, which include all the images we think of when we think India: fortune tellers, street performers, snake charmers, tigers, arranged marriages, overpopulation, lack of education, skin whitening, hippies, karma, pickpockets, caste system,...
Most stories include poverty, which sadly is the reality in Indi...more
Malgudi days takes us back to pre-independence India and it was lovely to see how life was content then.. I really loved that part. Narayan's tells stories about interesting characters like a cobbler, a palm reader , begger and narrates their life which is enjoyable. In my opinion the best in the lot which I thoroughly enjoyed is Swami's story. It was lovely and Narayan takes us to Swami's world. The "road roller" story is also enjoyable. But having read Tamil writer Sujatha's "ஸ்ரீரங்கத்து தேவத...more
Well, its all about the fictional town of Malgudi, given birth by the Imagination and sheer brilliance of R.K.Narayan, who always wanted to be with his people. His main stress was on character delineation, he himself said that, "once character comes up, every thing revolves around it".
So, here too Narayan has given an insight into the psyche of the common men and women, the inhabitants of Malgudi, their idiosyncracies, their routine, their behaviour at specific instants, their innocence, simplic...more
So, here too Narayan has given an insight into the psyche of the common men and women, the inhabitants of Malgudi, their idiosyncracies, their routine, their behaviour at specific instants, their innocence, simplic...more
Simple and flawless English; natural, life-like descriptions of characters and events are the notable points of this book.
Everything told appears to be extremely normal and familiar to the reader. Here and there the incongruousness of life is highlighted with a forceful but matter-of-fact style. Beyond that the characters do not demand much from the reader; they politely and silently march out of our minds, with rare exceptions.
Abrupt endings make us wonder if they are deliberate or unintentio...more
Everything told appears to be extremely normal and familiar to the reader. Here and there the incongruousness of life is highlighted with a forceful but matter-of-fact style. Beyond that the characters do not demand much from the reader; they politely and silently march out of our minds, with rare exceptions.
Abrupt endings make us wonder if they are deliberate or unintentio...more
No bookshelf is complete without malgudi days.
A collection of wonderful stories! Some stories made me laugh, some made me cry. It took some time for me to finish this book as I have my school work going on too. I have heard a lot about this book and have been wanting to read it for a long time. I got to know one of my friends had this book and borrowed it at once. And obviously, I loved it! One of the things I love about R.K Narayan is that he explains the surroundings and situation so wonderfully. Half of the story goes in the surroundings...more
A collection of short stories from the bustling town of Malgudi, 'Malgudi Days' is a conglomeration of humour, satire, simplicity and perfection. A literary sorcerer, Narayan breathes in life into his impeccable stories. Indeed preserved for posterity.
The varied collection of short stories is embellished with Narayan’s signature humour and the natural serene setting makes the stories all the more captivating. While some left me laughing out loud other doused me in gloom. 'An Astrologer’s Day',...more
The varied collection of short stories is embellished with Narayan’s signature humour and the natural serene setting makes the stories all the more captivating. While some left me laughing out loud other doused me in gloom. 'An Astrologer’s Day',...more
I think this might have been the RK Narayan books that Adam read out loud to me when we spent the year in India. Even if it wasn't, RK Narayan is exactly the kind of author who is wonderful to read on your own but even better shared. His stories capture the indomitable spirit of of Indian villagers (though perhaps more universally small town dwellers everywhere), the innate goodness of the human soul and the complexity in life that keeps all of us interested.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._K._Na...
R. K. Narayan (October 10, 1906 – May 13, 2001), shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami (Tamil: ராசிபுரம் கிருஷ்ணசுவாமி அய்யர் நாராயணசுவாமி) was an Indian author whose works of fiction include a series of books about people and their interactions in an imagined town in India.
R. K. Narayan (October 10, 1906 – May 13, 2001), shortened from Rasipuram Krishnaswami Iyer Narayanaswami (Tamil: ராசிபுரம் கிருஷ்ணசுவாமி அய்யர் நாராயணசுவாமி) was an Indian author whose works of fiction include a series of books about people and their interactions in an imagined town in India.
I thought it was an OK read. It is because I read the book much later than the TV series. I could not find anything new as most stories were remade in TV.
It is a must read for those who haven't watched Malgudi Days on TV. Malgudi Days captured the rustic India like no other TV serial. Much has to do with the way it was written. Malgudi is a world within itself. What wonderful days they were in childhood!
It is a must read for those who haven't watched Malgudi Days on TV. Malgudi Days captured the rustic India like no other TV serial. Much has to do with the way it was written. Malgudi is a world within itself. What wonderful days they were in childhood!
Super short short stories, ranging from 3-10 pages per. Amazingly - I didn't hit upon one that left me dangling, or feeling incomplete, as some short stories do. Narayan's writing is ---spicy is the word that comes to mind, like eating hot chilli peppers that wake up every taste bud in your mouth and leave you grabbing for more. Couldn't put this one, I found it electrifying.
A true classic - Indian to the core and brilliantly orchestrated throughout. No one captures the changes, that swept through small town India in the middle of the last century, better than Narayan. The best of the lot is of course the story of Swami & his friends - with the subtle "Vendor of Sweets" coming close as my second favorite.
No description.. its etched into the lives of every south indian.. Malgudi- is definitely a wonderland where you can meet your clan, the dirty neighbour, your loving (or !! ?) relatives, typical personalities you have come across as you grew up, whom you might have failed to recognize.. R.K gives life to all of them :)
Terrific poignant yet funny short stories about the 'common' people who inhabit A. K. Narayan's fictional town of Malgudi, India. Written over a period of almost 40 years, they give one an idea what it might be like to live in a small town in India. Narayan sets all of his stories and novels in the fictional town of Malgudi.
Malgudi Days features a lot on Indian Culture, themes of family love and also human experiences. His stories always have a moral or lesson learnt. It's quite an okay book but i find it a little hard to annotate. If you haven't tried reading collections of short stories, this may be a good book to start with.
read this in school and i loved it... i started enjoying reading asian authors, especially indian authors due to the way they express themselves and are so intricate in their descriptions... makes the experience and ideas so vivid in your mind... you can picture the people or places they are describing.... <3
The introduction was not my favorite writing by Lahiri.
The rest very occasionally reminded me of India, and not in an expected way: I was drawn in and hopelessly bored at the same time, couldn't wait to get back into it so it would finally be over.
A couple of good stories- worth reading for sure.
The rest very occasionally reminded me of India, and not in an expected way: I was drawn in and hopelessly bored at the same time, couldn't wait to get back into it so it would finally be over.
A couple of good stories- worth reading for sure.
Such a lovely reread; Narayan doesn't age, doesn't fade. Images from some of these stories will stay with me for a long time, I'm sure—the lonely sign painter licking cotton candy from the corners of his lips, the gambler who breaks open his son's coin box with a pestle, the knife-sharpener yelling in the streets, the cobbler who thinks he might have met god in the shape of a hippie...life is hard, life is sweet, life is sour, life is bitter, life is long.
Nice collection of short stories in the imaginary town of Malgudi. Each short story is a tale about a character in the town and has a small but thoughtful message. As you read more, you know the town more and feel more for it. Very 'Indian' at the core.
Realistic stories with an earthly flavour, this book set in a fictional town in India called Malgudi can actually make you laugh or cry with its appealing stories. Had heard a lot about it and finally decided to try it. Definitely not disappointed!
A portrayal of the mere ordinary with extraordinary precision and simplicity, Narayan's Malgudi Days will not see the use of unnecessary words, or complicated words when a simpler one is more readily available. And it is that very feature that makes reading it extremely pleasant and easy. It is also a great work of writing. The stories keep you gripped, and a unique Dickensian skill is involved in his use of characters' names.
The book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a tremendous sense of hu...more
The book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a tremendous sense of hu...more
This is one the most delightful of R.K Narayan's books. As an Indian and as a Tamil I could enjoy the book thoroughly, when I read it decades ago. But I am unsure as to how well others would be able to relate to it.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
R. K. Narayan is among the best known and most widely read Indian novelists writing 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...more
More about R.K. Narayan...
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...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“life is about making right things and going on..”
—
21 people liked it
“This is my child. I planted it. I saw it grow. I loved it. Don't cut it down...”
—
3 people liked it
More quotes…
Jun 01, 2010 05:00pm