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"Pungent as a Madras Curry, The Man-Eater of Malgudi makes a most rich and satisfying mixture. Hilarity and high seriousness are rarely yoked together in partnership as effectively as they are in this book... Mr. Narayan's writing is limpid and beautifully unforced..." - Times Literary Supplement, London"
--This text refers to the
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This is the story of Nataraj, who earns his living as a printer in the little world of Malgudi, an imaginary town in South India. Nataraj and his close friends, a poet and a journalist, find their congenia l days disturbed when Vasu, a powerful taxidermist, moves in with his stuffed hyenas and pythons, and brings his dancing-women up the printer's private stairs. When Vasu, in search of larger game, threatens the life of a temple elephant that Natara j has befriended, complications ensue that are both laughable and tragic.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Man-eater of Malgudi" is the first book of Narayan's that I read and it wont be the last.
The book is basically about a man standing up to a bully. The main character, Mr. Nataraj, owns a printing shop in Malgudi and is quite happy with his lot until Vasu, a big hunk of a man, moves into Nataraj's attic.
Vasu who is a taxidermist likes to push people around as if he owns them and is almost immediately resented by the quiet Nataraj and his friends. Only when the taxidermist threatens a beloved temple elephant does Nataraj decide that enough is enough and decides to confront Vasu...with terrible consequences.
R.K. Narayan's potrait of a small fictitious town in India is beautifully done with his exquisite English. One can read about an Indian family eating rice off banana leaves on their kitchen floor and do their ablutions in the river; all that and many more written in such perfect English that one does not feel any strangeness. On the contrary, the reader is pulled closer to the story and the characters regardless whether the reader is an English, American, Japanese, African or whatever. Narayan's lack of pretense in his writings is his merit and his charm.
I was saddened to hear of his death in early 2001. India and the English-speaking world in general has lost a great man of letters. Hopefully, through his books the genius that was R.K. Narayan would live on.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
R K Naryan was a rare Gem in the literary world. All his books are excellent and must read for anybody who can read English.
Its specially nice for people who would like to know what Rural India was.. The relationships, the environment, the society - each and every aspect is explained in such an amazing and interesting way that you feel you are there when things are happening - you are transformed to places and situations.
Even if you are not interested in India, still its a great read. The way Narayan handles the language is must read to believe. You would have never imagined that simple stories and sitatuation's can be explained so beautifully.
Once you start reading the book you cannot stop infact you will end up reading the books again and again as i do ( which i do not do with any other books )
Its highly recommended to buy all the Novels / Books of R K Narayan
Its specially nice for people who would like to know what Rural India was.. The relationships, the environment, the society - each and every aspect is explained in such an amazing and interesting way that you feel you are there when things are happening - you are transformed to places and situations.
Even if you are not interested in India, still its a great read. The way Narayan handles the language is must read to believe. You would have never imagined that simple stories and sitatuation's can be explained so beautifully.
Once you start reading the book you cannot stop infact you will end up reading the books again and again as i do ( which i do not do with any other books )
Its highly recommended to buy all the Novels / Books of R K Narayan
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
One of Narayan's best
27 Jun 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
"Man eater of Malgudi" by R.K. Narayan,one of India's first internationally-known writers who chose to write in English, is easily one of the author' best works. Vasu,a big blustering bully, moves into the lazy little South Indian town of Malgudi,the fictional town in which nearly all of Narayan's stories are set, and overturns the life of Nataraj the town's printer. A colourful retinue of other characters: the "sizzling" prostiute Rangi,a poet, Nataraj's practical assistant, the lovable temple elephant Kumar...all add to the novel unique charm and fascination. Much of the novel's complexity lies in the fact that Narayan loosely bases his tale on the ancient Indian myth of a blustering demon Bhasmasura who terrorises the world of mortals. Much has been written about Narayan's 'comic vision'. Beneath the frothy light-heartedness of 'Man eater...' is a serious and complex exploration of many issues central to life in modern India - an individual's caste and how it determines his life and relationship with others, the battle between 'good' and 'evil' and how these values are determined by a society, the confrontation between modernity and tradition - a way of life which is thoudands of years old.These issues are further highlighted by the fact that Narayan uses English the language of 'modern' India and, at the same time, adopts the rhytmns, sytanctic structures and diction which make for a unique brand of 'Indian English' The novel also transcends the regional in that it touches on some of the tragi-comedy of human life, some of the boredom, horror and glory that make up our existence.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
A story of triumph
7 Jun 2006
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a story of the triumph good over evil. In some ways it is much like the many mythological stories told to young Indian children at temples and schools by their elders.
The important thing in those tales and in this one as well, is to realize that just because something is "evil", it isnt entirely unholy or deviod of any good. Bhasmasura, the demon whom this tale is based on, was a very powerful and devoted disciple of God. Similarly, Vasu has his strengths as well. The reader will notice how the two faces of the same coin start merging. The simple print shop owner who was docile and timid enough to print the lawyer's invites for "free" changes over the course of the book to become more street wise and less of a push over much like Vasu.
Every form has its good and bad. R. K. Narayan wraps up this little nugget of truth with some very humurous touches in The Man-Eater of Malgudi.
The important thing in those tales and in this one as well, is to realize that just because something is "evil", it isnt entirely unholy or deviod of any good. Bhasmasura, the demon whom this tale is based on, was a very powerful and devoted disciple of God. Similarly, Vasu has his strengths as well. The reader will notice how the two faces of the same coin start merging. The simple print shop owner who was docile and timid enough to print the lawyer's invites for "free" changes over the course of the book to become more street wise and less of a push over much like Vasu.
Every form has its good and bad. R. K. Narayan wraps up this little nugget of truth with some very humurous touches in The Man-Eater of Malgudi.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
One of Narayan's best
20 Jun 2000
Format:Mass Market Paperback
'Man eater of Malgudi' by R.K. Narayan, one of India's first internationally acclaimed writers who chose to write in English, can easily be rated one of the author's his best efforts. A story set in the small South Indian town of Malgudi in which most of Narayan's stories are set,'Mane eater ...' captures much of the mind-bogglingly intricate aspects of modern Indian life. Much of the complexity of the novel comes from the fact that Narayan's plot is loosely based on the Indian myth of 'Basmasura' a powerful demon who wreaks havoc on the world and is finally destroyed in the most ridiculous manner. Much has been written and said about 'Narayan's comic world view'. It is perhaps wise to think of this novel as a good instance of the writer's amazingly complicated use of the comic mode - under the light-heartedness, charm and cheer is a powerful awareness of the complexities of Indian society and indeed,life itself : the conflict between tradition and modernity, the intricate inter-caste dynamics which dictate the way characters think and relate to each other, the war between 'good' and 'evil', 'weak and 'strong'. Narayan captures some of the beauty, the sadness, the laughter and the glory of human existence. The author's use of English is especially interesting because Narayan's very 'Indian' English capttures the syntactic structures and rhythmns of India's native languages. Besides,the use of a 'modern' Western language in this little Indian town which is still deeply rooted in a way of life which is thousands of years old, itself signifies some of the novel's themes.Narayan's mode of story-telling owes much much to the ancient Indian tradition of ofolk-narrative . One can say without any much, exaggeration that this one of the best books in English ever written by an Indian.
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