Reviews for Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories

The average rating for Under the Banyan Tree and Other Stories based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-06-15 00:00:00 Steve Willett A delightful collection of 28 stories, this is R. K. Narayan at his best. All the short stories have a different theme and background and hence give the reader great reading pleasure. The stories build up stress and anxiety within the short format and the soothing end sums up the plot beautifully. Great read

Review # 2 was written on 2021-07-09 00:00:00 Kent Takano The writing and the characters stand out when it comes to R. K. Narayan's books. This collection of short stories didn't disappoint me at all. The stories talk about rural livelihoods, the fast changing times, generation gap and the obsolete beliefs of the old times. The debate in most of these stories are about the ideals most of us believe we have versus the ones we disapproved of at others'; the younger generation vs the older generations; the rural life vs the urban life; Twenty-eight short stories in all, each story is delightful to read and has something important to say about the society we live in. My most favourites in this collection are *A Horse and Two Goats: poverty and old age; language barrier *The Roman Image: irony regarding fame and hard work *A Career: frauds and fate *Old Man of the Temple: gave me goosebumps; creepy but witty *A Hero: relatable childhood story *Dodu: love this resourceful, innocent kid *Another Community: communal riots *Like the Sun: is truth worth it? *Chippy: tale of a dog *A Breath of Lucifer: introspection of one's life, a mysterious character *The Mute Companions *Four Rupees *Fruition at Forty *Crime and Punishment *Half a Rupee Worth I liked reading each and every story. Each story has something different to tell and something to learn from. A must read collection.