The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of 190 pages and is available in Paperback format. We see life in a small town where there is a strong British presence in schools and in government offices . Amidst all this we see swam. Still makes me nostalgic after so many years. Even though set in times almost a century back, it captures the thinking of a child in a manner that makes it relevant in any age. The book has been awarded with , and many others. There was a problem loading your book clubs. Narayan writes about life in such small town where people have now lived for years in a system that looks complacent but the omnipresent head of foreign rule is ever present. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. Amidst all this we see swami and his friends get into trouble, have fun and just be children as long as the world allows them. I did come back to Malgudi Like I had said after reading "Bachelor of Arts"! His father, while certainly not as laughably stupid as Homer Simpson, is no Father-Knows-Best figure of paternal perfection. Kids growing up in an age before Satellite TV, Internet and Mobiles. R.K.Narayan is just a genius without any doubt. Please try again. As a teacher, she made... "There are writers—Tolstoy and Henry James to name two—whom we hold in awe, writers—Turgenev and Chekhov—for whom we feel a personal affection, other writers whom we respect—Conrad for example—but who hold us at a long arm's length with their 'courtly foreign grace.' and hope to score something. The book reminds me of simpler times and even simpler people, an era that's missing and grossly required in today's world. Common terms and phrases. We get to see a very authoritarian society out to stiff out children's natural learning and growing up process. So homely, so amusing.. And a bit sad towards the end. Swami and friends has got such an innocence that they will make you smile, remind you of the 'big problems' you had to face when you were a child and all those ridiculous things you did. Swami and Friends is the first of a trilogy of novels written by RK Narayan, a celebrated English novelist from India. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in. . Was a joy to read! I would never have known about Narayan had not the parent of a child with whom I worked introduced me with a Christmas present of the Everyman's Library Edition of the four 'Malgugi' novels. Please try your request again later. The mischeif of the boys has been written in a comical way. His fatelands him in trouble in whatever he does. I needed something ‘light’, and unlike my friend who picks up gory murders as light reading, I turned to the much-loved world of one of India’s most beloved novelists, RK Narayan. Makes for a very good read. The story is told through the third-person point of view of a few characters, but mostly from the titular Swami, a fun-loving ten-year-old boy. Narayan (whom I don't hesitate to name in such a context) more than any of them wakes in me a spring of gratitude, for he has offered me a second home. R. K. Narayan's novel Swami and Friends is a piece of realistic, youth-oriented fiction set in the fiction Indian city of Malgudi in the 1930s. It's always a delight to visit the fictional town of India, Malgudi. This book took me back to childhood, full of innocence and exaggerated drama. He's a normal kid, a bit selfish, and this story is pretty realistic. Please try again. Get started. “Swaminathan had never thought that this story contained a moral. Swami and Friends is the first of a trilogy of novels written by RK Narayan, a celebrated English novelist from India. I was quite close to swami's age when malgudi days aired on TV. Where I am from, swami is a school staple. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. What I got was a masterfully rendered little story of a boy and his friends in rural southern India in the 1920s. Swami and friends has got such an innocence that they will make you smile, remind you of the 'big problems' you had to face when you were a child and all those ridiculous things you did. Not your basic role model. Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2010. Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. His stories are gently humorous. Swami and Friends introduces us to Narayan’s beloved fictional town of Malgudi, where ten-year-old Swaminathan’s excitement about his country’s initial stirrings for independence competes with his ardor for cricket and all other things British. Without a doubt, R K Narayan is one of the most famous Indian writers and a great story teller. The episode where Swami's father tries to help out with a fractions problem in Swami's math book made me laugh, because it so accurately reflected the terrifying and mystifying experiences twenty-first century children have with the very same subject. Set in a fictional place in South India called Malgudi after the colonization explores various aspects and conflicts which may or may not be truly universal but can definitely represent the … Chapters 1-5. R.K. Narayan was a master at describing the inner life of a wide range of people. And in 1 simple line I am thrilled to be at Malgudi even though it took me so many years! I was quite close to swami's age when malgudi days aired on TV. Had it not been for Greene, we, as a collective human race, would have been deprived of the extraordinary beauty of simplicity and sincerity in prose and literature. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. 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