Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Nitya, at six on Friday morning," said his father determinedly, "we leave by bus..." (more)
Key Phrases: four rupees, fifty rupees, four annas, Breath of Lucifer, Rama Rao, Market Road (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A collection of stories about characters from every walk of Indian life - merchants, beggars, herdsmen, rogues - all of whose lives are microcosms of the human experience.

About the Author

R.K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906, and educated there and at Maharaja's College in Mysore. His first novel, Swami and Friends and its successor, The Bachelor of Arts, are both set in the enchanting fictional territory of Malgudi and are only two out of the twelve novels he based there. In 1958 Narayan's work The Guide won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, his country's highest literary honor. In addition to his novels, Narayan has authored five collections of short stories, including A Horse and Two Goats, Malguidi Days, and Under the Banyan Tree, two travel books, two volumes of essays, a volume of memoirs, and the re-told legends Gods, Demons and Others, The Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. In 1980 he was awarded the A.C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made an Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Narayan died in 2001. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (May 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140185445
• ISBN-13: 978-0140185447
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,090,126 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great yet simple, October 15, 1999

By	[e-mail] "Vincent" (Indonesia) - See all my reviews

Narayan was a great writer. I like best ths story titled "anamalai", "Breath of Lucifer" and of course "Under the banyan tree" itself. Some of those short stories are so easy to understand, some are so deep, so i have to read it carefully to get the skillfully written rethorics. It's a classics, worth buying and kept for lifetime.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting like "Malgudi Days", April 19, 1999

By A Customer

This book is in the same mold as "Malgudi Days". Some stories ,like the title story & "Dodu" are pure gems. I read and re-read this book and still found them as fresh.The characters ,the situations are so real that one wonders whether the author picked them out of his own experiences.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Try a Narayan Short Story for Yourself, July 1, 2007

By	Douglas S. Wood "Vicarious Life" (Monona, WI) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

'Under the Banyan Tree', a collection of 28 short stories published late in R.J. Narayan's career in 1985, demonstrates the warmth, humor, and simplicity that made him so beloved. The tales are set in and around fictional Malgudi and include a number of stories featuring the Talkative Man.

Narayan's works are sometimes criticized by the literati - but see also a 2001 New York Review of Books essay titled 'The Great Narayan' by Pankaj Mishra. Pick up 'Under the Banyan Tree', read a short story, and make up your own mind. I think you'll be warmly rewarded.