Raju, recently released from prison, takes shelter in a ruined temple by a river near a village called Mangala. When a villager mistakes him for a sage, Raju finds it easier to accept the role than to explain himself, and soon people bring him food, problems and reverence. The novel alternates between this present and Raju's account of how he got here.
Years earlier Raju ran a shop at Malgudi railway station and became a popular guide for tourists. One of his clients was Marco, a cold archaeologist, and his wife Rosie, a gifted dancer whose husband despises her art. Raju's involvement with Rosie, and his management of her career as a star performer named Nalini, led him into vanity, debt and eventually crime.
Narayan writes with typical lightness, but the book poses serious questions about sincerity, performance and whether a role played long enough becomes real. It won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960, the first for an English-language novel, and inspired the 1965 Dev Anand film Guide.
Book details
| Author | R. K. Narayan |
|---|---|
| First published | 1958 |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Classic |
| Type | Fiction |
| Pages (approx.) | 220 |
| Setting | Malgudi and the village of Mangala, South India, mid-20th century |
| Awards | Sahitya Akademi Award 1960 |
Themes
- Identity and performance
- Redemption
- Art and marriage
- Faith
- Self-deception
Who should read it
Readers who like gently ironic stories about reinvention and the line between faith and fraud.