Hello guys. This time, I thought of giving you a new genre for my blog. But I promise you that this one will be as interesting as the other blogs that I have posted before. This is a book review about a book called “Swami and Friends” by R.K. Narayan. This is one of my favourite books I've ever read. So I thought of making it a review. I highly recommend this book for beginners and intermediates. So if that sounds interesting, hit that like button. And don’t forget to follow me for more content like this. So let's GET STARTED.

About THE Author

Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Iyer Narayanaswami, also known as R.K. Narayan, was born on October 10, 1906, in Madras (Chennai). He is famous for his story based on the fictional town of Malgori. He uses humour as an effective tool to highlight different social issues. He received the second and third highest civilizational awards of India, i.e., the Padma Vibushan and Padma Bhushan. also the Ac. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and the Sachiktya Akademi Fellowship. He kicked his bucket on May 13, 2001, in Chennai.

Synopsis 

This was the first book published by R.K. Narayan. The story was written about British colonialism in India in 1930. It depicted the lives of a young Swami and his friends. A 10-year-old Swami led a mundane life. Like every student, he hates doing homework and going to school. He had five friends.

Mani 

Rajam 

Somu

Pea 

Shankar

They lived in Mulgudi, a fictional town near the bank of the Sarayu River. Even though they had different personalities, they were passionate about Mulgudi Cricket Club (MCC).

Swami was very close to Rajam, who was the lead character. He was a new admission to the school where Swami was studying. He had the guts to stand up to Mani, who was an overlord in the class. At first, both Swami and Mani didn’t like Rajam. After some time, Swami liked him a lot and was always behind him. So his friends would call Swami "the tail of Rajam”. But one day, there was a protest at his school. As it is a British school, people disliked it and started to damage it in revenge for the British. As Swami didn’t like his school, he too joined the protest and broke the window of the headmaster’s office. As a result, he was dismissed from the school. Also, Rajam didn’t like this act by Swami, and there was a crack in their friendship. After some time, the friends joined a club called Mulgudi Cricket Club. Rajam was the sponsor of that club. Even though Swami’s school situation made it difficult for him to attend the cricket coaching, he somehow managed to do so. But one day, he was angry with the headmaster of the new school. So he threw the headmaster’s stick out of the window. Being afraid of his headmaster, Swami ran out of the city. This made him skip an important match for MCC. He knew that Rajam would be angry with him. But when Mani was informed that Rajam was about to leave the city, he ran to see his friend. The story ended at the railway station, where Swami said his goodbyes to Rajam, even though Rajam didn’t respond to them.

Positives of this book

The book’s central theme was childhood. Here, the author shows how children are influenced by society and the community. He depicts the relationship of Swami with his parents, friends, teachers, and grandmother. He beautifully portrays the emotions of love, innocence, haste, naughtiness, envy, and optimism.

Conclusion 

It is an ideal book for beginners and intermediates. The author uses humour and wit to make this a fairly interesting read. While reading, the reader will get into the character. The adults will recall their school memories. The ending might be incomplete for some readers, as it led to suspense about whether Rajam would forgive Swami.