What is your latest read?

[Plum]

Re-acquainted self with childhood favourite R.K.Narayanan - an omnibus containing Guide, Waiting for Mahatma, World of Nagaraj and Dark Room. Guide, I read as a 12 year old and just took in the ambience - it does reveal some deft characterisation and story-telling now. Also, while the present is in third person, the past is in first person. Noticed this only in current reading - not sure if the technique is original or intentional but it does turn out to be a fascinating read because of that..

Waiting for Mahatma and w
World of Nagaraj, incredibly, are mere compilations of the state of mind of the protagonist in the present - even as he goes through his life after we are introduced to Nagaraj, we continue to see him rambling about random past events and states of mind - more fodder for the anecdotal evidence theory.Very cosy, comfy, eventless novel - nothing really happens yet he captures several vignettes of a freshly-independent south indian small town. Claustrophobically refusing to go beyond the confines of Kabir Street and Sarayu river steps, it is definitwely a tribute to the writer's engaging skills.
Waiting for Mahatma, on the other hand, is linear but still is a series of thoughts of Sriram.
But Dark Room was the best - amazing capture of a little- educated dependent housewife and her efforts to get independent of her cheating husband. The cute golu sequences - only rkn possible.

Still waiting to read english teacher and painter of signs - I was forbidden as a child to reas the latter presumably for adult content.