Customer Reviews

A Tiger for Malgudi

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The protagonist of this story is a tiger! He is young and ferocious (as we all fancy we are), he faces the cruelties of the world (being made into a show animal), he reacts through murder and carnage (as might be natural for a tiger), and he evolves into a philosophical and detached being, no longer quite " a beast."

The story of his evolution into an enlightened soul is uplifting.
The message, I think, is that every soul, not just human, has a consciousness, and strives for something.

The proof in the power of Narayan's crystal clear narrative is that the reader feels for the tiger, respects him, and admires him for the soul he has become. (Few lucky folks can attain the state of this smart cat!) Like many Narayan stories, he tackles a challenging premise and makes it appear effortless.

READ THIS! READ THIS!

This book is a gem, it has very witty sentence structures that make you laugh out loud. It equally articulates the many phases that man goes through in life very aptly, using the tiger as a fine metaphor. A treasure that you can revisit and pass on from one generation to the next. For me it's R.K. Narayan's most profound book- indeed one must have lived fully, in order to write it down this succintly.

Is it true than only human beings can think? Do not animals have the ability to think? Well, never mind; but what if they did? Well, if animals did think, then you get a classic book, 'A Tiger for Malgudi' by name.

I picked this book up because R.K. Narayan is my favorite author. And when I read the title, I thought the story was about how a man-eater or something enters Malgudi and terrifies the townsfolk and the like. But the blurb bemused me. Wait a minute, this book is different, I thought.

And it really was. The entire story is narrated by a tiger. It recounts its younger days, how it gets caught and is made to perform in a circus, how it escapes only to be captivated by the magical powers of a saint who leads it into the forest. An entertaining philosophical discourse follows, and finally the saint entreats the tiger to enter the protection of a zoo.

The entire novel can be completed in a couple of hours, but when one recounts the tale, one will break into fits of laughter. The humor and sarcasm are so very characteristic of Narayan. And there is no better scene in the story as the one when the tiger enters a local school. If anything, you'll discover India in that one scene.

I have always loved this book, and it prompted me to read all of R.K. Narayan's books, though to be honest, it is not his masterpiece (that would be either The Guide, Malgudi Days as a whole, or The Financial Expert). Yet this book does capture a sense of Narayan's unique genius, his ability to write myth and folkore as a living force that can exist side by side with cars, film crews, and the entire panoply of modern India.

I taught this book in a Freshman Composition course, and the students were rather divided on its merits. Some found it too "simple," having trouble accepting a book that begins as the memoirs of a captive tiger (which Narayan is at no great pains to keep intact), only to jump off to other narratives and points of view. The key to keep in mind is that Narayan is writing this book from the tradition of folklore and myth, where tigers can talk--yet are not bound by our ponderous modern notions of "realism." Indeed, though a modern work, many of the characters and situations in this book seem lifted out of folklore, as brilliant translated and realized by Narayan (much as he retold the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and others). On the surface, it is a simple story, well-told, yet has powerful undercurrents, particularly on the purpose of one's life, and the contradictions of each "path" we choose. The relationship of the Raja with the holy man is brilliant, particularly as Narayan allows us to see the messiness of cutting one's self off to follow a path of individual salvation.

A short book, but one that I return to often. To truly enjoy it, it's important not to impose a Western perspective on it, or even look for "novelistic" elements in the narrative. Simply read it and let yourself fall into Narayan's folkloric world, which exist as much here as in some enchanted world at the beginning of history.

Did I mention the book is often hilarious as well?

From page one I was entranced by the intricity of this marvelous book. It runs back to the times of the ancients, and uncovers their wisdom in a way never heard before. I absolutely love this amazing book.

I had to read this for a class and I thorougly enjoyed it. It's a simple read but there's so much in there for you to think about. I would very strongly suggest A Tiger for Malgudi!

Original, entertaining, deeply thoughtful, and ultimately profoundly spiritual, this simple book takes the reader on an adventure within the being of a magnificent tiger. The tiger evolves from a proud, ruthless, and mighty ruler of the jungle to a sadly domesticated circus creature to a spiritually aware and transfigured being. His growth is mirrored in the life of his "master," to whom he refers from the very start of this account and whom we finally meet toward its glorious end. Along the path of the tiger's evolution, we also meet many an animal and human whose essential personalities and quirks are clearly drawn. The reader can easily overlook Narayan's inconsistent narrative voice, which is sometimes from within the tiger himself and sometimes from the third person. Too, one is amused by the absurdity of Indian bureaucracy and corruption as "officials" at one point try to figure out what to do with the tiger as he freely roams from village to village, and the book is flavored by India's "gestalt." But simple spiritual messages are delivered in the last 25 pages or so as the master and tiger make their way to the master's retreat and reside there in peace: "It's often said that God made man in his own image, it's also true that man makes God in his own image." "When you address a prayer to God, you are only praying to yourself...or at least you are entitled to half that prayer...". "...only the foolish waste their lives in fighting."

I wonder if the author of "The Life of Pi" is familiar with this work. Also, the author of "Water for Elephants" would love this work. Narayan is a world-class author who deserves to be read, particularly now as the world lurches toward a delusional catastrophe.

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal a book reviewer responded to a person asking for genuinely funny books, and the reviewer's answer was that what is humorous to some is not so humorous to others. "A Tiger for Malgudi" is a case in point. Another reviewer here says that they laughed out loud in some parts, but in what is arguably the funniest scene, where the tiger is holed up in a headmaster's office as the villagers argue and try to decide who will resolve the situation, I couldn't find it all that funny. True to life, absolutely; funny, not so much. This book is touted as being as funny as Evelyn Waugh's work -- it's even billed as a comedy -- but I think that's nonsense. What I would say is, this is a book for young people -- I'd target the smart set in the 6th through 9th grade -- who might want to learn easily about Indian hermits and Indian religion, and maybe have a good time seeing the foibles of humankind thrown into the bargain. The book is short but well-constructed and has a terrific ending that makes you want to go back and re-read the first three paragraphs. Those who have already gotten a grounding in Indian mysticism and are already comfortable with the notion that tigers may be capable of cogent thought won't find too much new here to chew on. May I also suggest that the author's Introduction is a spoiler if ever there was one? Read the Introduction last.

Narayan at his average, and he still is way better than the rest of the world! Set in his beloved Malgudi, Narayan never ceases to amaze me!