This is a short, late novel by the Indian writer RK Naryan. Previous to this one I read two of his early novels from the 1930s, one that I absolutely loved and thought was wonderful — Swami and Friends — and one that I did think was very good, but less beloved — The Dark Room. This novel is not really a lot like either. We begin by meeting Raman, a sign painter who works in the small village of Malgudi (Narayan’s go-to fictional town ala Yoknapatawpha […]
Raman’s was the last house in Ellaman Street; a little door on the back wall opened, beyond a stretch of sand, to the river.
The Painter of Signs by R.K. Narayan