SOURCE: "Short Stories of R. K. Narayan," in Indian Literature, Vol. 16, Nos. 3 and 4, July-December, 1973, pp. 165-79.

In the following essay, the authors review Narayan's short stories, first by collection, then by character type.

R. K. Narayan, one of the most famous Indo-Anglian writers, author of Mr. Sampath and The Guide, is famous in the western world more for his novels than for his short stories or for other forms of literature that he has tried. Apart from his ten novels, a volume of fifty-five sketches and essays, stories retold from India's immense store of myths and legends, books conveying his travel impressions, Narayan has written quite a large number of short stories which have been collected and published in six volumes—Dodu and other Stories, Malgudi Days, Cyclone and other Stories, Lawley Road and other Stories, Astrologer's Day and other Stories, A Horse and Two Goats.

Many of...