Book Review: The Financial Expert

The Financial Expert by R.K. Narayan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story of Margayya will remain etched in mind forever. For that story reminded me of a paternal grandfather's elder brother, who was an accountant and a businessman and my maternal grandfather who was a very successful businessman, and who overcame odds multiple times.

One particular incident narrated in this story made me recollect my childhood in Madurai. Narayan narrates that during summer, the school children would sometimes come and ask for water at Margayya's house. That used to happen at my grandma's house at Madurai too. We had a "Copper Sombu", a form of crockery, to fetch water from inside for the thirsty and sometimes when the passerby asked for more water, we used go inside, fetch another full sombu and share with them. Those passerby's had not relation to us, and they would simply drop by when thirsty.

When Narayan shares these small incidents in the storybook, a reader who is grown up in India is sure to become nostalgic and appreciate many nuances of Indian life.

I loved reading this book.