- Paperback: 184 pages
- Publisher: Indian Thought Publications (Dec 1 2007)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 8185986037
- ISBN-13: 978-8185986036
- Product Dimensions: 20.1 x 12.4 x 0.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 136 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Never has the magical storyteller of imaginary Malgudi woven tragedy and humour so deftly together.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
I was on the whole very pleased with my day-not many conflicts and worries, above all not too much self-criticism. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I was on the whole very pleased with my day-not many conflicts and worries, above all not too much self-criticism. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
trauma of departure of a loved one
May 3 2004
Format:Paperback
This book is autobiographical. It depicts painful struggle of the protagonist to come to terms with passing away of his young, beloved wife.
Coping with loss
May 15 2002
Format:Paperback
Of the few novels by Narayan I've read (each of which are, I think, early ones) I thought this was by far the most accomplished. "The English Teacher" is a well-written, controlled and moving piece of work.
It's the story of Krishnan, a teacher in the fictional Indian town of Malgudi, who sets up home with his wife and young daughter. A tragedy unfurls which exposes Krishnan to feelings of loss and isolation. Narayan explores how humans cope with the ensuing disorientation, and in the end (of course), it's the living rather than the dead who continue to suffer.
A short, but worthwhile read.
His best work...
Feb 28 2002
Format:Paperback
This one's my favourite Narayan - along with the Maneater of Malgudi, this occupies a very special place in my book-shelf. The English Teacher - a.k.a. Grateful to Life and Death - is a sad story, sadder than most of Narayan's Malgudi novels. But the tragedy is softened by the wry humour that runs through the novel.
'The feeling,' Narayan writes on the first page, 'again and again came upon me that as I was nearing thirty I should cease to live like a cow (perhaps, a cow, with justice, might feel hurt at the comparison), eating, working in a manner of speaking, walking, talking, etc, - all done to perfection, I was sure, but always leaving a sense of something missing.' You can see what I'm talking about.
The story, as Narayan narrates in his autobiography 'My Days', is intensely personal.
'The English Teacher is autobiographical in content, very little of it being fiction. The "English Teacher" of the novel ... is a fictional character in the fictional city of Malgudi, but he goes through the same experience I had gone through...'
'That book,' he writes, 'falls in two parts - one is domestic life and the other half is "spiritual."'
The second half comes as a bit of a surprise, but Narayan tackles the difficult subjects of death, deprivation and desolation masterfully. Narayan takes you through the story gently. There are no shocks, nothing disturbing. This is a sad tale, gently told.
The book ends on a note of hope - 'it was a moment of rare, immutable joy - a moment for which one feels grateful to Life and Death.' The reviewer who spoke of how Narayan manages to 'communicate ... the extra-ordinary ordinariness of human happiness', I think hit the nail right on the head.
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Most recent customer reviews
Narayan's best
Through his unobtrusive insights, Narayan paints a beautiful picture of a small fictional South Indian town - Malgudi (which is in reality, a mixture of images derived from his... Read more
Published on Feb 25 2002 by Sara
touching
amazingly tender. Narayan is a master story-teller.
Published on July 17 2001
There's no better way to be taught English
Writers such as R.K. Narayan, P.G. Wodehouse, write without aspiring for greatness. Like a flower which grows without thinking, their words flow naturally filling page after page... Read more
Published on Jun 4 2001 by Arun Krishnan
Bewitching!
This book is one of the author's masterpieces. The only thing which really put me off being an Indian is the cover that has been chosen for this book. Read more
Published on May 27 2001
great
Critics have often compared with Russian writer Gogol , his imaginary town of Malgudi , peopled with characters potrayed with a gentle irony as they struggle to accommodate... Read more
Published on Dec 15 2000
An Indian Romance
R.K.Narayan is one of the most popular indian writers writing in English, Admired greatly by Graham Greene & V.S.Naipaul . Read more
Published on April 2 2000 by Rish
Dreamy yet not profound
When a child builds a castle on the beach the sole motif is the pleasure of the moment. The feel of the sand and the mystery of the possibilities dictate this out of the world... Read more
Published on Aug 4 1999
Refreshing...depressing??
Narayan as his typical self - comic, critical, statirical and philosophical. Reading this book one is forced to introspect the value and wisdom of doing a mundane job (practically... Read more
Published on Feb 20 1999
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