R. K. NARAYAN
R. K. Narayan (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) , 1906-2001, Indian novelist, b.
Madras (now Chennai). Narayan, who wrote in English, published his first novel,
Swami and Friends, in 1935. While he wrote hundreds of short stories for the
Madras newspaper Hindu, he first came to international attention when his works
were hailed in England by Graham Greene . His humorous novel The Financial
Expert (1952) was the first of his works published in the United States.
Frequently set in the fictional town of Malgudi, many of Narayan's 14 novels and
numerous stories provide exquisitely crafted, witty, vital, and perceptive
descriptions of everyday village life in S India. His fiction often deals with
the protagonist's search for identity. Narayan's major works, usually centering
around a modest hero and containing portraits of a variety of eccentrics,
include The English Teacher, also known as Grateful to Life and Death (1945),
The Printer of Malgudi (1949), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961),
The Vendor of Sweets (1967), The Painter of Signs (1976), and A Tiger for
Malgudi (1983). Among his short-story collections are Malgudi Days (1982) and
The Grandmother's Tale and Selected Stories (1994).
R. K. Narayan (Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan) , 1906-2001, Indian novelist, b.
Madras (now Chennai). Narayan, who wrote in English, published his first novel,
Swami and Friends, in 1935. While he wrote hundreds of short stories for the
Madras newspaper Hindu, he first came to international attention when his works
were hailed in England by Graham Greene . His humorous novel The Financial
Expert (1952) was the first of his works published in the United States.
Frequently set in the fictional town of Malgudi, many of Narayan's 14 novels and
numerous stories provide exquisitely crafted, witty, vital, and perceptive
descriptions of everyday village life in S India. His fiction often deals with
the protagonist's search for identity. Narayan's major works, usually centering
around a modest hero and containing portraits of a variety of eccentrics,
include The English Teacher, also known as Grateful to Life and Death (1945),
The Printer of Malgudi (1949), The Guide (1958), The Man-Eater of Malgudi (1961),
The Vendor of Sweets (1967), The Painter of Signs (1976), and A Tiger for
Malgudi (1983). Among his short-story collections are Malgudi Days (1982) and
The Grandmother's Tale and Selected Stories (1994).