R. K. Narayan Bücher

In Malgudi beginnt Raju seine Karriere als der verlogenste und deshalb erfolgreichste Fremdenführer weit und breit. Unter seinen Kunden entdeckt er eine Tänzerin, und als ihr Impresario kommt er schnell zu Geld und Ehren - bis er infolge kleinerer Unregelmässigkeiten im Gefängnis landet. Nach seiner Entlassung sucht er in einem verlassenen Tempel Zuflucht, und im Handumdrehen wird er - hätte er’s selbst gedacht? - zum Guru des Dorfes. Er gibt gute Ratschläge, geistliche Unterweisung und nimmt gutes Essen. Bald wird er als Heiliger verehrt. Was so erfreulich beginnt, wird schließlich gefährlich: Als die Dürre ausbricht, erwartet die Dorfgemeinschaft von ihrem Swami, dass er durch Fasten und Gebete, ja sogar echtes Märtyrertum die Regengötter umstimmt.

The title character in The English Teacher, Narayan's most autobiographical novel, searches for meaning when the death of his young wife deprives him of his greatest source of happiness.

This is the story of Nataraj, who earns his living as a printer in the little world of Malgudi, an imaginary town in South India. Nataraj and his close friends, a poet and a journalist, find their congenial days disturbed when Vasu, a powerful taxidermist, moves in with his stuffed hyenas and pythons, and brings his dancing-women up the printer's private stairs. When Vasu, in search of larger game, threatens the life of a temple elephant that Nataraj has befriended, complications ensue that are both laughable and tragic.

Here are three of R. K. Narayan's most famous and best loved novels: Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts and The English Teacher. All set in the imaginary Indian town of Malgudi, these irresistible works provide the perfect introduction to a universal world of humour, sadness, wisdom and joy.

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 Days presents Narayan's imaginary city in full color.

My Days is the only memoir from R.K. Narayan, one of the 20th century's most important writers in the English Language. In the wryly funny style that has made him famous, R.K. Narayan shares his life story.

Srinivas, editor of "The Banner" and its sole contributor, concerns himself with artistic and intellectual problems. Mr Sampath, its printer, amicably shoulders the financial burdens. When the paper folds - a surprise to them both - Mr Sampath sees a way to save an equable partnership.

For the centennial of his birth, R. K. Narayan's most celebrated novel Formerly India's most corrupt tourist guide, Raju—just released from prison—seeks refuge in an abandoned temple. Mistaken for a holy man, he plays the part and succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Raju's newfound sanctity to the test. Narayan's most celebrated novel, The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.