The Guide

The Guide
First US edition
AuthorR. K. Narayan
LanguageEnglish
GenrePhilosophical novel
Publisher
Publication date
1958
Publication placeIndia
Media typePrint (hardcover & paperback)
Pages220 pp
ISBN0-670-35668-9 (first American edition)
OCLC65644730

The Guide is a 1958 novel written in English by the Indian author R. K. Narayan. Like most of his works, the events of this novel take place in Malgudi, a fictional town in South India. The novel describes the transformation of the protagonist, Raju, from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and then one of the greatest holy men of India.

This novel earned Narayan the first 1960 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.[1] In 2022, it was included on the "Big Jubilee Read" list of 70 books by Commonwealth authors selected to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Elizabeth II.[2]