Mr. Sampath--The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma (Everyman's Library) [Hardcover]

R. K. Narayan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2006

(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)

In the novels of R. K. Narayan (1906-2001), the forefather of modern Indian fiction, human-scale hopes and epiphanies express the promise of a nation as it awakens to its place in the world. The three novels brought together in this volume, all written after India’s independence, are masterpieces of social comedy, rich in local color and abounding in affectionate humor and generosity of spirit.

Mr. Sampath–The Printer of Malgudi is the story of a businessman who adapts to the collapse of his weekly newspaper by shifting to screenplays, only to have the glamour of it all go to his head. In The Financial Expert, a man of many hopes but few resources spends his time under a banyan tree dispensing financial advice to those willing to pay for his knowledge. In Waiting for the Mahatma, a young drifter meets the most beautiful girl he has ever seen–an adherent of Mahatma Gandhi–and commits himself to Gandhi’s Quit India campaign, a decision that will test the integrity of his ideals against the strength of his passions.

As charming as they are compassionate, these novels provide an indelible portrait of India in the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The novelist I most admire in the English language.” –Graham Greene

“Few writers since Dickens can match the effect of colorful teeming that Narayan’s fictional city of Malgudi conveys.” –John Updike

“The hardest of all things for a novelist to communicate is the extraordinary ordinariness of most human happiness…Jane Austen, Soseki, Chekhov: a few bring it off. Narayan is one of them.” –The Spectator

“The experience of reading one of his novels is…comparable to one’s first reaction to the great Russian novels: the fresh realization of the common humanity of all peoples, underlain by a simultaneous sense of strangeness–like one’s own reflection seen in green twilight.” –New York Herald Tribune Book Review

“Narayan is a writer of Gogol’s stature, with the same gift for creating a provincial atmosphere in a time of change…One is convincingly involved in this alien world without ever being aware of the technical devices
Narayan so brilliantly employs.” –The New Yorker

Product Details

• Hardcover: 616 pages
• Publisher: Everyman's Library (March 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400044774
• ISBN-13: 978-1400044771
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.3 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #861,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting and thought-provoking, February 10, 2011

By 

E.J. Kaye (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mr. Sampath--The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

Fascinating writing that deals with people and situations that can only happen in India. I really enjoyed these novellas, and I think it provides a window into a culture that too few Americans get a chance to understand.

5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Narayan's Malgudi, January 9, 2010

By 

Vincent Poirier (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mr. Sampath--The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

The three novels gathered in this omnibus edition make an excellent introduction to the works of Indian writer R.K. Narayan. The novels all take place in the fictional Indian city of Malgudi. They each offer a mix of wisdom, comedy, pathos, tragedy, romance, and action.

"Mr. Sampath" is a coming-of-age novel but one with a particular Indian twist. The main character Srinivas is sensitive but immature, but he isn't lost or even dissatisfied. He needs to be prodded unto the path towards manhood by his elder brother. Maturity is acceptance of one's lot but by participating actively in the world around us.
(Full review: http://www.amazon.com/review/RTLQDSWW758JX/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm )

"The Financial Expert" is a comic novel about an unsympathetic swindler who is nevertheless mature and wise in his own way. We might not like him but it's difficult not to empathize and understand him.
(Full review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R13JRCPQAS18D3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm )

"Waiting for the Mahatma" is a modern historical novel of India achieving independence. Narayan wrote it soon after the events and Indian history serves as a backdrop to the story of a young couple in love; they in turn can be seen as symbolizing India and the Mahatma. Narayan paints an intimate portrait of India rather than an epic canvas.
(Full review: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2ZKYGNE4CQQBY/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm )

This is a gorgeous edition by the way. Cloth bound hardcover book printed on acid free paper and with a bookmark ribbon attached. It feels good to hold and smells nice.

Vincent Poirier, Tokyo

Links to separate editions of each novel:
Mr. Sampath: The Printer of Malgudi
The Financial Expert (Phoenix Fiction Series)
Waiting for Mahatma

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best writers, November 13, 2009

By 

R. Rockwell (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mr. Sampath--The Printer of Malgudi, The Financial Expert, Waiting for the Mahatma (Everyman's Library) (Hardcover)

.R K Narayan provides the most complete view of the Indian soul to the outsider, with his many novel all set in the town off Malgudi. Admired by Graham Greene , I am sure you will enjoy this collection of the novels by one of my favorite authors and an excellent introduction.