- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Vintage Classics; New Ed edition (2 Aug 2001)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0099282364
- ISBN-13: 978-0099282365
- Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2.1 x 19.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,008,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Book Description
Keynote/Publisher's Comments'The novelist I admire most in the English language' Graham Greene
Product Description
In the shade of a banyan tree sits Margayva, self-styled advisor on the complex minor transactions which are an integral part of Indian life. Who else would you consult if you wanted a loan from the local Co-operative Bank?But a scrape with officialdom in the form of an unplanned interview with the Bank's Secretary - and a mishap which finds his spoilt son Balu throwing his accounts book down a drain - temporarily cuts short a lucrative career. (20001211)
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First Sentence
FROM time immemorial people seemed to have been calling him "Margayya". Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
FROM time immemorial people seemed to have been calling him "Margayya". Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
It is through this book that I began my love affair with Mr. Narayan's writing. His characters are wry and ironic and clear. One is transported and thoroughly engaged. Best of all, Mr. Narayan delivers the heart of a story without the glitter and glare of literary cleverness and intellectual showing-off. The gift is so simply and honestly packaged that one is amazed and gratified by its depth.
"The Financial Expert" takes place in the made-up city of Malgudi in southern India. It centers around the life and pursuits of a man named Margaya who daily sits in a public park and offers expert advice--to those willing to pay for it--on matters of financial import. As you follow along, it seems as if Margaya's life has finally taken a turn for the better, but in reality all is unraveling. The book is rich in imagery of life in India, and one's ease in absorbing these details is due to Mr. Narayan's ability to present the unfamiliar in such a familiar light.
I hope that many more people are lucky enough to discover Mr. Narayan's work.
Format:Paperback
Being interested in financial services for poor people, I heard about this book at a microfinance conference. People said it gives a real insight into the way moneylenders work (or used to work) in India. So it does, but it is also a wonderful read. The style is eccentric, both in language and in the story telling. The story makes sudden leaps and the dialogue is often rather disjointed, but these disjunctions give the whole novel a surreal atmosphere that I found very seductive. Well worth a read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5 reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Completely Satisfying.
2 Dec 1998
Format:Paperback
It is through this book that I began my love affair with Mr. Narayan's writing. His characters are wry and ironic and clear. One is transported and thoroughly engaged. Best of all, Mr. Narayan delivers the heart of a story without the glitter and glare of literary cleverness and intellectual showing-off. The gift is so simply and honestly packaged that one is amazed and gratified by its depth.
"The Financial Expert" takes place in the made-up city of Malgudi in southern India. It centers around the life and pursuits of a man named Margaya who daily sits in a public park and offers expert advice--to those willing to pay for it--on matters of financial import. As you follow along, it seems as if Margaya's life has finally taken a turn for the better, but in reality all is unraveling. The book is rich in imagery of life in India, and one's ease in absorbing these details is due to Mr. Narayan's ability to present the unfamiliar in such a familiar light.
I hope that many more people are lucky enough to discover Mr. Narayan's work.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Delightful
8 Dec 2001
Format:Paperback
If you haven't yet discovered the pleasures of R.K. Narayan, I highly recommend The Financial Expert. It is nothing less than a classic. Superbly written, with humorously human characters and a well observed story. We follow the successes and of Margayya, the "financial expert" who lives in Narayan's fictional Malgudi. His story is amusing and entertaining. Narayan is a wonderful writer. Enjoy.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Financial Expert Gets His Return on Investment
31 Jan 2006
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The Financial Expert By R. K. Narayan.
Set in the mythical town of Malgudi, The Financial Expert is a cautionary tale about the evils of the love of money. Margayva, the protagonist of this tale, is a self-made man who has a knack for taking advantage of the poor rustic souls in his community. He lends easily but not freely, wheedling his neighbors out of their assets. He is entirely unsympathetic as a boorish and petty man, so completely concerned with "status" and appearances that he develops little else. He dotes on his piggish, stroppy son, with predictable results. He is evil to his brother and sister-in-law who live as strangers next door. He is so consumed with acquisition of money that he cannot for a moment enjoy its benefits, either by spending it, or by giving it away. Ultimately, when a Ponzi scheme he has developed fails, he is reduced to his humble origins.
But for the wonderful, illuminating descriptions of the teeming life in that part of world, and, I suspect, clear insight into the small minds and hearts of some bureaucratic types in India, the book would be a disappointment. It is a short book, thankfully, predictable, but not charmless. Three stars and perhaps I am being generous.
Set in the mythical town of Malgudi, The Financial Expert is a cautionary tale about the evils of the love of money. Margayva, the protagonist of this tale, is a self-made man who has a knack for taking advantage of the poor rustic souls in his community. He lends easily but not freely, wheedling his neighbors out of their assets. He is entirely unsympathetic as a boorish and petty man, so completely concerned with "status" and appearances that he develops little else. He dotes on his piggish, stroppy son, with predictable results. He is evil to his brother and sister-in-law who live as strangers next door. He is so consumed with acquisition of money that he cannot for a moment enjoy its benefits, either by spending it, or by giving it away. Ultimately, when a Ponzi scheme he has developed fails, he is reduced to his humble origins.
But for the wonderful, illuminating descriptions of the teeming life in that part of world, and, I suspect, clear insight into the small minds and hearts of some bureaucratic types in India, the book would be a disappointment. It is a short book, thankfully, predictable, but not charmless. Three stars and perhaps I am being generous.
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