My Days (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "All day long, I sat half buried in sand piled in a corner of our garden, raising castles and mountain-ranges, unaware of the fierce Madras..." (more)
Key Phrases: The Guide, Sir Mirza, Graham Greene (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Interpreting [India's] unique atmosphere with compassion, fidelity, and irony has been Narayan's life's work, and none of India's many gifted writers surpasses him at the task. -- The Los Angeles Times

Narayan is a kind of tapestry-artist; to him the pattern is all, and he sees it everywhere. -- Times Literary Supplement

[Narayan is] such a natural writer, so true to his experience and emotion. -- V. S. Naipaul

[Narayan is] the novelist I admire most in the English language. -- Graham Greene

Product Description

"I am inclined to call this the last chapter, but how can an autobiography have a final chapter? At best, it can only be a penultimate one; nor can it be given a rounded-off conclusion, as is possible in a work of fiction." So begins the last chapter of My Days, the only memoir from R. K. Narayan, hailed as "India's most notable novelist and short-story writer" by the New York Times Book Review.

In his usual winning, humorous style, R. K. Narayan shares his life story, beginning in his grandmother's garden in Madras with his ferocious pet peacock. As a young boy with no interest in school, he trains grasshoppers, scouts, and generally takes part in life's excitements. Against the advice of all, especially his commanding headmaster father, the dreaming Narayan takes to writing fiction, and one of his pieces is accepted by Punch magazine (his "first prestige publication"). Soon his life includes bumbling British diplomats, curious movie moguls, evasive Indian officials, eccentric journalists, and "the blind urge" to fall in love. R. K. Narayan's larger-than-life perception of the human comedy is at once acute and forgiving, and always true to it.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 186 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 1st Ecco Ed edition (July 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0880016256
• ISBN-13: 978-0880016254
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,000,343 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent rendering of Narayan'slife and times, October 27, 1999

By A Customer

This is vintage Narayan at his best. Those of us who are his regular readers, will continue to marvel at his breezy, uncomplicated style of narration. My Days will make you smile, shed a tear and feel sorry when it ends ! A must for all book-lovers.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Narayan's days, August 13, 2002

By	J. Gifford (Las Vegas NV) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

R.K. Narayan's memoir gives us a glimpse into the uncomplicated life of a simple man who became one of the 20th century's literary giants. On par with Graham Greene, Narayan shared in his literature the world of Malgudi, a busy place peopled with hilarious characters and a clear reflection of the politics of a small Indian city. Narayan's India is real, bereft of the imperial feel of Kipling's version of a few decades earlier. In Malgudi, everyone knows each other, and the circle of life revolves around a little print shop, fashioned after the shop Narayan would visit when creating his local arts paper as a young man.

MY DAYS is a fascinating look into Narayan's psyche, though it does drag at times. Narayan clearly writes better make-believe than real life, but this book is still a treat.