The Guide: A Novel

“Nothing in this world can be hidden or suppressed. All such attempts are like holding an umbrella to conceal the sun.”

R. K. Narayan is one of the best novelists India has produced. Readers never seem to get enough of the fictional town of Malgudi and its residents. This particular novel is the one that earned Narayan the Sahitya Akademi Award.

The Guide is a typical R. K. Narayan novel, with humor and plot twists and ofcourse the town of Malgudi. Railway Raju is the protagonist. His meeting with Rosie, a dancer, becomes the turning point in his life. Raju’s life is changed drastically from a tourist guide to Rosie’s dance manager and later a sage. Raju wins the heart of Rosie when he shows support for growing her passion. The story focuses on Raju’s deteriorating moral values and the crooked path he chooses to gain which later terminates in his downfall..

The narration is very simple despite the complex plot, which is what I admired the most. Unlike many of the author’s other novels, there isn’t much humor in it. There is a bit of a serious tone in it. But it doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

The author leaves us a lot of things to ponder over. At the end of the book, we realize that life doesn’t happen the way we plan it. The sins we do will backfire and our loved ones are lost. Life may bring many unexpected twists according to which we have to change.