Book Review - Swami and Friends by R. K. Narayan
Swami and Friends, the debut novel of R K Narayan is about a ten-year-old boy Swami, whose life mainly consists of having fun with his friends and tolerating the adults around him.
The novel is set in British India in a small town called Malgudi. Malgudi is a town by the river Sarayu -which glistens like a silver belt where Swami and his friends spend hours eating lime pickles while dangling their feet in the river.
Swaminathan's best friends were Somu - who was the monitor of the class, Mani - the mighty good for nothing, the brilliant Sankar, Samuel - the "pea", and Rajam - the police super intender's son (need I say more!).
He is also one of the founders of MCC - Malgudi Cricket Club which is one of his greatest passions. He's an excellent bowler and the team wouldn't do well without him. He goes to practice every day after school.
This book also shows the contrast between the lives of the different classes of people. While Swami lived in a small house, his room being one corner of his father's office, he eats homemade food for tiffin (snacks) and cold coffee, his best friend Rajam has his own room with a shelf full of toys and a cook who brings out yummy snacks and hot coffee. Swami is struck with awe when he visits Rajam's house and is very pleased when Rajam gives one of his toys to him.
The author establishes a child's world through Swami, who goes through the rollercoasters of life - happy one day after adventures with his friends and running away from home after getting suspended from two schools. The book is pleasantly detailed about his relationship with his grandma who always listens to what he has to say, his adoration for his baby brother, and the scary looks of his father when he wants to run out to play before finishing his homework.
One of the scenes I enjoyed reading is when Swami has his examinations. He finishes the paper very early and waits for at least one other person to go out of the class before him. He finally cooks up the courage to submit his work and go out, only to realize that his friends are still writing. He waits for a long time being bored out of his mind. His peers finally come out and discuss their answers. Swami then realizes that for an essay question for which his friends had written more than one page, he had only written a sentence. His confidence shatters but conceals it from his friends. Reading this took me back to my school days where I experienced the same as Swami. I always finished early and had whispered arguments with my friends asking them to submit the paper first.
Reading Swami and Friends and all other books by R K Narayan is fun to read and is very relatable to our childhood days.
I hope you all enjoyed reading this review and I hope you take the time to read the book. Let me know which part of this book you can most relate to.
For people who prefer watching a story instead of reading, you can watch the television series (YT Link) that was started in 1986.
Happy Reading!