Once again March has arrived (a couple of days early, it seems). A number of years ago the delightful John Wiswell (who just won a Nebula Award and was short-listed for the Hugo) came up with the idea of setting aside March to read a classic novel you'd always meant to get around to, but hadn't. Something that you felt mildly guilty for not having tackled, or a book that had been on your shelf a very long time: take March and conquer it.
This year's novel hasn't, actually, been on my shelf very long. But it was purchased for me at Christmas since it was the oldest item on my Amazon Wishlist, languishing, unpurchased, since 2007: one of the very first items I ever added.
My knowledge of Indian literature is okay, I suppose, but paltry for such an enormous country, with such a long literary history. So when I was still in college I ran across a list somewhere that recommended R.K. Narayan, and added it to Amazon. I'm happy to now finally tackle his work.
The collection, running around 600 pages, is his famous trilogy of life in the fictitious Malgudi - Swami and Friends, The Bachelor of Arts, and The English Teacher. Why it's not simply called The Malgudi Trilogy, I don't know. Also included in the collection is the only other novel Narayan wrote in this era (the 1930s and early 40s) - The Dark Room. I am going to prioritize the trilogy, but will try to get through The Dark Room, another Malgudi-set novel, as well before March ends.
If you're looking for a post-Omicron project, I highly recommend NaNoReMo. We could all use a little pick-me-up in these wretched times, and the feeling of satisfaction after completing a classic often does just that. I'm excited!
