Contemporary Indian Writers in English (CIWE) is a series that presents critical commentaries on some of the best-known names in the genre. With the high visibility of Indian writing in English in academic critical pedagogic and reader circles there is a perceivable demand for lucid yet rigorous introductions to several of its authors and genres. A pioneer in Indian writing in English R. K. Narayan’s breadth of work based on the fictitious world of the tiny Malgudi town offers both the academic-scholar and the general reader a variety of ideas about and insights into a small town’s many lives. Narayan’s novels short fiction non-fiction and travelogues hover around sweet shop owners schoolchildren teachers family planning propagandists ghosts criminals-turned-savants and housewives – the deceptive simplicity of his prose style offering a ‘microcosm’ of the Indian society with its caste class and gender complication. All of these essential aspects of Narayan’s work come in for sustained attention in this eminently readable introduction by Mohan G. Ramanan. Ramanan posits a genealogical perspective on Narayan’s themes and concerns by locating these in intellectual contexts such as the role of English in Narayan’s works and Indian Writing in English as a genre

1. Introduction ;2. Thoughtful Citizen: Narayan’s Essays ;3. The Self And The World: Narayan’s Memories Travelogues And Guide Books ;4. Narayan’s Short Fiction ;5. Narayan’s Longer Fiction ;6. Thematic Concerns ;7. Caste Class And Gender ;8. Form And Value In Narayan ;9. Conclusion ;Topics for Discussion ;Works Cited ;Select Bibliography