The present book Narrative Noodles: Essays on Indian Novels in English is a collection of twenty three essays written at different times with different perspectives in mind for journals and anthologies. The first chapters is a synoptic study of trends, issues and the limitations of Indian Novel in English. It raises several pertinent questions about nomenclature, nature, scope and major concerns. The essays are focused mainly on individual novels that range from landmark voices like R.K. Narayan and Raja Rao to the trend setter Rushdie and his ilk and the spurting creativity in the Post-Rushdie contemporary scenario. The novels studied in the volume include Raja Rao’s The Serpent and the Rope, R.K. Narayan’s The Bachelor of Arts, Bhattacharya’s He who Rides a Tiger, Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan, The Company of Women, Anita Desai’s Fasting Feasting, Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines, Salman Rushdie’s Fury, Arundhati’s The God of Small Things, Raj Kamal Jha’s The Blue Bedspread and If You are Afraid of Heights and Prema Nandakumar’s The Atom and the Serpent. They interrogate inflated reputations, underscore unnoticed achievements of the novelists and probe the cultural amnesia in Indian novels and novelists. However, three novelists are also studies in separate chapters. They are Kamala Markandaya, Sobha De and V.S. Naipual. The throw light on the nature of their creativity to investigate how far Indian they are in their sensibility. It is hoped this book would prove its utility for students, researchers and lovers of Indian novels in English.
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