When in doubt, read R. K. Narayan
Nagaraj is such a unique character, so is the book. It’s one of a kind for a lot of reasons. Before jumping into the book, I wanted to ask, “Why isn’t R.K. Narayan celebrated?” In fact I wanted to title the very essay like this. But I felt it’d be more optimistic and less risky to say, “Why should be R. K. Narayan more celebrated” Optimism is one factor. But when I place Narayan in the same pedestal with the likes of Dostoevsky, Flaubert or James Joyce, I’m sure there will be a lot of people to defend the greats. I don’t want to get into that. Of course they’re greats but Narayan is unlike anyone else. I’m okay with people who have not read more than Dan Brown and not knowing the greatness of Narayan but even well-read people’s response with a nod of the head, with their inner voice stating, “this guy doesn’t know anything” or even worse, calling it a children novel because it’s simple puts me off.
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