Swaminathan is a ten-year-old schoolboy at the Albert Mission School in Malgudi, more interested in his friends than his arithmetic. His circle includes Mani, the class bully with a heavy club, and Rajam, the polished son of the police superintendent, whose arrival sets off rivalries and loyalties that matter enormously to the boys.
Over a school year Swami avoids his father's lectures, listens to his grandmother's stories, gets caught up in a protest against British rule without quite understanding it, and helps found the Malgudi Cricket Club with grand plans to rival the MCC. Small disasters pile up, and adult authority looms in the background like weather.
Published in 1935 with Graham Greene's help in finding a London publisher, the novel introduced Malgudi to the world. Its humour comes from seeing grown-up concerns through a child's priorities, and it remains one of the most affectionate portraits of boyhood in Indian writing. Its episodes are short enough to read aloud.
Book details
| Author | R. K. Narayan |
|---|---|
| First published | 1935 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Classic |
| Type | Fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 184 |
| Setting | Malgudi, a fictional South Indian town, 1930 |
Themes
- Childhood
- Friendship
- School life
- Colonial india
Who should read it
Young readers and adults alike who enjoy funny, nostalgic stories about schoolboy friendships.