Malgudi Days
R.K. Narayan
When I was in India on a book tour in 2008, the Indian Times correspondent told me not to bother with all the sacred cows of Indian literature, and we all know who she meant by those, but to read R K Narayan. He is a genius. I only discovered him that year, but now have probably read everything he has ever written. He is known over here only by the minority, but his simple, atmospheric tales of everyday Indian life and its people, are sheer magic. When people ask me to recommend a writer, I say look at their short stories, and then you can decide whether you like the author enough to read their novels. 11