R. K. Narayan Libri

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.

Swami is ten years old, and life for him consists mainly of having adventures with his friends, avoiding the misery of homework, and coping as best as he can with the teachers and other adults he encounters.

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.

R. K. Narayan's magnificent new novel is about a tiger possessed of the soul of an enlightened human being who tells us the story of his life. Raja leaves his home in the Mempi hills only to find he is captured and made to perform in a circus and on a film set. Eventually he escapes, only to be recaptured - but this time voluntarily - by a guru. The two of them leave Malgudi and return to the hills where they pass their days in sweet philosophical discourse until old age overtakes Raja and he is forced to give up his freedom for ever. A haunting tale, A Tiger For Malgudi uniquely combines the elusive timeless quality of Hindu legend with the comic vision of Narayan's earlier Malgudi novels. Everyone, young and old, will enjoy the very simplicity of this compelling fable, but some will want to explore with Raja the pathway to true enlightenment.

Railway Raju is a disarmingly corrupt tourist guide, who lives by his wits and falls in love with a beautiful dancer.