Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Classics (1992), Paperback, 224 pages
Description
Formerly Indiaas most corrupt tourist guide, Rajuajust released from prisonaseeks refuge in an abandoned temple. Mistaken for a holy man, he plays the part and succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Rajuas newfound sanctity to the test. Narayanas most celebrated novel, "The Guide" won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his countryas highest literary honor.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Vivl
This book was my introduction to R. K. Narayan back in 1989, when I was doing Post-Colonial Lit at Uni (my favourite ever subject, by the way, due in equal parts to the excellence of the authors and the humour and intelligence of Professor Griffiths). I adored it at the time and enjoyed it a lot
An interesting (to me at least) thought crossed my mind during this re-reading: there's something in the nature of Narayan's gentle observation of lives that reminds me of Garrison Keilor's writing, and I can't help wondering whether Narayan's Malgudi Days, published in 1943, was in the back of Keilor's mind when he was writing Lake Wobegon Days many decades later.
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now, although I wasn't quite so transported. Perhaps that is because I can now recognise recurring themes in Narayan's works and so it doesn't seem quite so fresh. (The Painter of Signs, for example, covers some similar themes.)An interesting (to me at least) thought crossed my mind during this re-reading: there's something in the nature of Narayan's gentle observation of lives that reminds me of Garrison Keilor's writing, and I can't help wondering whether Narayan's Malgudi Days, published in 1943, was in the back of Keilor's mind when he was writing Lake Wobegon Days many decades later.
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LibraryThing member gbill
As many have noted, R.K. Narayan wasn’t concerned with politics or stories revolving around grand historical movements, despite having lived in turbulent times over his life. Man, he sure does tell a good story though. In The Guide he masterfully interleaves two narratives of a young man’s
We find the young man makes a name for himself but starts getting in over his head when he falls in love with the married wife of a cultural anthropologist traveling for research; she’s a “dancing girl.” Narayan may not write epics, but through these characters he subtly comments on class, ambition and corruption in India, and human nature in general. It may sound crazy to say it, but I think you can draw a straight line from Railway Raju, his protagonist, and Aravind Adiga’s Balram Halwai in The White Tiger, despite how much more explicit and wild the latter was. Loved Narayan’s little comedic touches, and it was pretty cool to learn that he wrote this book on his first trip abroad, in a residential hotel in Berkeley, California.
Just one quote:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that nothing in this world can be hidden or suppressed. All such attempts are like holding an umbrella to conceal the sun.”
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life, one trying to make his way in the world as a tourist guide, and the other, after he’s been released from prison, being inadvertently taken as a holy man. Part of what makes the novel work is trying to see how these pieces of his life fit together.We find the young man makes a name for himself but starts getting in over his head when he falls in love with the married wife of a cultural anthropologist traveling for research; she’s a “dancing girl.” Narayan may not write epics, but through these characters he subtly comments on class, ambition and corruption in India, and human nature in general. It may sound crazy to say it, but I think you can draw a straight line from Railway Raju, his protagonist, and Aravind Adiga’s Balram Halwai in The White Tiger, despite how much more explicit and wild the latter was. Loved Narayan’s little comedic touches, and it was pretty cool to learn that he wrote this book on his first trip abroad, in a residential hotel in Berkeley, California.
Just one quote:
“I’ve come to the conclusion that nothing in this world can be hidden or suppressed. All such attempts are like holding an umbrella to conceal the sun.”
Show Less
LibraryThing member adrianburke
Not an obvious read. The protagonist seems to go with a flow in his life which is decidedly not western.
LibraryThing member burritapal
This is a kind of sad book, about a guy who grew up living across the street from where they would one day build a railroad track and railway station. This caused his father's tiny little"store" to flourish, and his father was able to amass some wealth. Eventually getting a contract for a shop in
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the station, he did even more business, bringing his son into the railway shop to help him. This led to Raju little by little developing a tourist guide business. All very well, except that one day he contracted with a married couple to be their exclusive guide, and that's where all his downfall began. Show Less
Subjects
Awards
Sahitya Akademi Award (English — 1960)
The Big Jubilee Read (1958 — 1952-1961)
Language
Original publication date
1958
Physical description
224 p.; 7.79 inches
ISBN
014018547X / 9780140185478