R.k. narayan beautifully potrays the ups and downs of chandan’s life. chandran’s love, disappointment, realisation and then again love. there are no acts of heroism. its a very simple story about a simple man yet its captivating. its all about illusions- disillusionment - realisation !
it starts with his college life. no plans for future , love- a distant dream, career - not much thought about ! when the novel opens before us he is yet to learn many things in life
he gets captivated when he sees malathi , very strong infactuation. hindu myths and so called culture ruines his love, hence his love life gets a disappointment and ends here
this disappointment makes him crazy and he gets carried away. he ends up becoming a sanyasi.
after 8months of wondering, he REALISES that evrything about him is fake and hence now he plans to return to his parents
after returning he does well in his career as well. his mother initially hessitates to propose the name of susila as a bride for him . but chandran remain romantic till the end and falls in love with her
though there are no acts of heroism yet its a complete potray of a person’s life’s ups and down
must read