A masterpiece. Review on Swami and Friends - R K Narayan

If there is a fascinating display of high quality literature that involves innocence, emotions, sentiments and playfulness of youthful characters, then this has to be the book. The sheer art of writing this book has captured the hearts of millions of people around the world.

It involves the story of a young boy, Swami(now a legendary character), who along with his friends play traunt in the Narayan created famous town of Malgudi. The sheer brilliance of the author reminds the reader of his youth, which in no way differs from the mischief of Swami. Every school has a bully which we vividly remember, and here too we have a bully in the form of Mani, a very close associate of Swami. Rajam in the form of a police officer's son becomes a very close friend of Swami and Mani. Their friendship, along with their small plans, little differences and a lot of similarities is the basic theme of this wonderfully written book. The reader after reading this book would really feel sorry for not being involved in a fun-filled world called Malgudi.

This book has been read by me close to five times, but I have carefully avoided reading the last chapter four times, simply because the simple tragedy of Rajam's farewell had left me greatly disturbed. If an author can influence the mindset of a reader with such a wonderful display of panache and ease with simple created characters, there can be nothing left except admiration for this greatly talented and gifted author. With this, I leave the readers to have a delightful insight of this book.

This book is a must read book for all!!!