CONDITION USED GOOD, A TOWN CALLED MALGUDI , THE FINEST FICTION OF R.K NARAYAN , S. KRISHNAN, HARDCOVER ,1999

In the final year of the millennium, R.K. Narayan—the grand old man of Indian literature—turned ninety-three. Over a writing career spanning seven decades, he has captivated generations of readers with his finely drawn characters, uniquely stylized language, and wry sense of humour. A master storyteller, Narayan’s greatest achievement is perhaps the creation of Malgudi, an imagined town in South India that has become a part of modern Indian folklore.

This collection brings together some of the most memorable works from Narayan’s pen. It includes The Man-Eater of Malgudi, arguably his greatest novel, which tells the story of Nataraj, the owner of a small printing press, and his guest Vasu, a taxidermist who moves into Nataraj’s attic with a bizarre menagerie of dead animals. Also featured is Talkative Man, a novella that begins with the arrival of a mysterious stranger in a blue suit who takes up residence in a railway station waiting room and refuses to leave.

Additionally, the collection presents some of Narayan’s most beloved and striking short stories—from the much-anthologized A Horse and Two Goats and Salt and Sawdust, the comic tale of a woman who cannot tell the difference between the two seasonings, to gems like An Astrologer’s Day, The Shelter, and Under the Banyan Tree, about a storyteller named Nambi who eventually falls into silence.

Encapsulating the very best of R.K. Narayan’s remarkable literary legacy, this volume is a fitting tribute to one of the greatest writers in the English language.