A Breath of Lucifer

"I wish you a speedy recovery. I do not know what happened that night. Some foul play, somewhere. The rogue who brought me the Coca-Cola must have drugged the drink. I will deal with him yet". These haunting tales from India's foremost storyteller, set in the fictional town of Malgudi, are filled with characters from every walk of life. Avaricious merchants, fleshy harlots, foolhardy teachers, beggars and rogues are all observed in minute detail, their stories told with great compassion, wisdom and wry, mischievous humour. This book includes "A Breath of Lucifer", "House Opposite", "The Watchman", "Another Community", "Like the Sun", "Uncle's Letters", "Fruition at Forty" and "Half a Rupee's Worth".

R. K. Narayan was born in Madras, South India, in 1906. His novel The Guide (1958) won him the National Prize of the Indian Literary Academy, India's highest literary honour. In 1980 he was awarded the A. C. Benson Medal by the Royal Society of Literature and in 1982 he was made Honorary Member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Most of his work focused on the fictional south-Indian town of Malgudi. He died in 2001.