Narayan’s debut novel, this is also the first to be set in the fictional town of Malgudi and the first of a semi-autobiographical trilogy, along with ‘The Bachelor of Arts’ and ‘The English Teacher’. It relates, in a gently humorous fashion, the life and adventures of a young boy and his friends as they grow up in a small provincial town. It has been highly praised by a number of critics and writers, including Graham Greene.