Mr. Sampath, the printer of Malgudi
Subtitle: The financial expert ; Waiting for the Mahatma
By: R.K. Narayan ; with an introduction by Alexander McCall Smith
Series: Everyman's library -- 294; Everyman's library (Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.) -- 294
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 578
ISBN-13: 9781400044771
Subjects: Humorous stories, Indic (English); India -- Social life and customs -- Fiction
Genres: Fiction
Other titles: Mister Sampath, the printer of Malgudi; Financial expert; Waiting for the Mahatma
Work titles: Novels.
Description: In the novels of R. K. Narayan (1906-2001), the forefather of modern Indian fiction, human-scale hopes and epiphanies express the promise of a nation as it awakens to its place in the world. The three novels brought together in this volume, all written after India's independence, are masterpieces of social comedy, rich in local color and abounding in affectionate humor and generosity of spirit. Mr. Sampath--the printer of Malgudi is the story of a businessman who adapts to the collapse of his weekly newspaper by shifting to screenplays, only to have the glamour of it all go to his head. In The financial expert, a man of many hopes but few resources spends his time under a banyan tree dispensing financial advice to those willing to pay for his knowledge. In Waiting for the Mahatma, a young drifter meets the most beautiful girl he has ever seen--an adherent of Mahatma Gandhi--and commits himself to Gandhi's Quit India campaign, a decision that will test the integrity of his ideals against the strength of his passions.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. xvii)