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A Writer's Nightmare
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. Introducing this selection of essays, Narayan writes, 'I have always been drawn to the personal essay in which you see something of the author himself apart from the theme...the scope for such a composition is unlimited—the mood may be sombre, hilarious or satirical and the theme may range from what the author notices from his window to what he sees in his waste-paper basket to a world cataclysm.' A Writer's Nightmare is the marvellous result of Narayan's liking 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.
- GenresNonfictionEssaysIndia
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 6, 1989
9 people are currently reading
171 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
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 3, 2018
A very good collection of R.K. Narayan's essays that were published when he was a columnist for the Hindu during 1958-1988. It contains all the aspects of his compositions - simple takes on day to day observation, full of the subtle humour and sarcasm wherever appropriate.
August 17, 2016
This a beautiful book. RKN has lovely mixture of the everyday and the whimsical.
His piece on libraries conveys his devotion to the institution.
The essays are drawn from Narayan's regular contributions to The Hindu.
His piece on libraries conveys his devotion to the institution.
The essays are drawn from Narayan's regular contributions to The Hindu.
June 9, 2016
A collection of essays which tackles a number of issues, and are a reflection on the Indian society. They deal with subject ranging from the education system, the author’s fear of mathematics, caste system , India's colonial history, the waste paper basket to name a few. A good read with humour, satire in some pieces. I admire the author’s critical analysis of topics which we barely think about or analyse like the sycophant, statues etc.
February 6, 2022
There was a point in time when R.K. Narayan had earned enough popularity and critical acclaim from his books. But the books weren't a source of steady income.
So he went to the then editor of The Hindu, asking him if there was space in his newspaper for a weekly column, and thus began the saga of his small essays showing up in The Hindu every Sunday.
This book is mostly a compilation of these weekly columns, and hence ranges through a variety of topics, each one as different and unrelated to the previous one as possible. While some essays are about serious topics such as Hindi imposition, the notion of English being a colonial language, vandalism of heritage structures under the guise of improvement, the education system, dowry etc, others are about mundane topics like street names, coffee, horses, waste paper baskets and so on.
These essays, singularly appearing in the newspaper weekly, may have been a nice light read. They still could be, if read as one once a week. But compiled into a book and read back to back, most of these turned out to be bland and failed to keep me interested. A few stood out, but the rest, I just went through them without much interest.
This was my first experience with the author and knowing his popularity for Malgudi Days, I think I'll give him another chance, probably with some fiction. But his essays were a miss for me.
So he went to the then editor of The Hindu, asking him if there was space in his newspaper for a weekly column, and thus began the saga of his small essays showing up in The Hindu every Sunday.
This book is mostly a compilation of these weekly columns, and hence ranges through a variety of topics, each one as different and unrelated to the previous one as possible. While some essays are about serious topics such as Hindi imposition, the notion of English being a colonial language, vandalism of heritage structures under the guise of improvement, the education system, dowry etc, others are about mundane topics like street names, coffee, horses, waste paper baskets and so on.
These essays, singularly appearing in the newspaper weekly, may have been a nice light read. They still could be, if read as one once a week. But compiled into a book and read back to back, most of these turned out to be bland and failed to keep me interested. A few stood out, but the rest, I just went through them without much interest.
This was my first experience with the author and knowing his popularity for Malgudi Days, I think I'll give him another chance, probably with some fiction. But his essays were a miss for me.
November 22, 2020
This is an exhaustive collection of essays by R. K. Narayan' written throughout his career.
Mostly published in The Hindu.
Just spanning 2 or 3 pages, the writing is full of his thoughts on various things that he notices in his everyday life, written with wit and his typical sense of humor.
Essays from his previous essays Collections (next Sunday and reluctant guru) have also been included here (hence the reason I called it exhaustive).
These should not be missed by anybody who is done with all his novels & short stories.
Throughly enjoyed reading each one of them.
Mostly published in The Hindu.
Just spanning 2 or 3 pages, the writing is full of his thoughts on various things that he notices in his everyday life, written with wit and his typical sense of humor.
Essays from his previous essays Collections (next Sunday and reluctant guru) have also been included here (hence the reason I called it exhaustive).
These should not be missed by anybody who is done with all his novels & short stories.
Throughly enjoyed reading each one of them.
November 21, 2018
Selected essays and columns ranging from Fretful indisposition to caste system..He never forgets sound relevant even after decades of publishing or it's my liking of him made him sound relevant to me is still a question to be answered
February 3, 2023
A good selection of essays by the master writer, a compendium of work stretching over decades; but he wrote for a column and didn't expect his writing to be so arranged - and thus there are repetitions, points made too often, and cases where excision would have been preferable to inclusion.
April 24, 2021
The misguided "Guide" and India as a colony are some among my favorites in this collection .
April 24, 2025
A set of short and interesting ‘essays’ or more like pieces from Narayan. I found it hard to get into most of the shorter ones surprisingly but I did like the collected essays at the end, and ‘The Reluctant Guru’.
January 11, 2021
This book is a collection of 65 essays written by R.K. Narayan. Many people have known him as a novelist, but he was an essayist as well. R.K. Narayan has been drawn to personal essays and for that reason, the book contains personal essays. The topic of the essays range from weddings to mathematics, from newspapers to waste-paper basket, from umbrellas to caste system and much more. Most of the essays were satirical and humorous. They will surely make you laugh heartily, as they've made me. As it is a book of essays, you can open it up and read it from anywhere.
It was my first book by R.K. Narayan and I liked this book as well as didn't liked this book. Some essays became my favourite while, some just couldn't strike a chord with me. But you ought to read this because it has some of the most humorous essays and you'll surely like a few!
A few of my favourite essays are -
• In The Confessional
• A Library Without Books
• The Great Basket
• Memory
• Headache
Recommended for all those who love to read essays, or are a fan of R.K. Narayan's writings.
It was my first book by R.K. Narayan and I liked this book as well as didn't liked this book. Some essays became my favourite while, some just couldn't strike a chord with me. But you ought to read this because it has some of the most humorous essays and you'll surely like a few!
A few of my favourite essays are -
• In The Confessional
• A Library Without Books
• The Great Basket
• Memory
• Headache
Recommended for all those who love to read essays, or are a fan of R.K. Narayan's writings.
February 5, 2008
Nice one. Really impressive essays from one of the best writers of India
December 28, 2014
Contains his essays from his younger days. Just a collection of his thoughts on various things. Good for people who like to read editorials and essays about anything.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews