The Room on the Roof

The Room on the Roof is a novel written by Ruskin Bond. It was Bond's first literary venture. Bond wrote the novel when he was seventeen[2] and won the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957.[2][3] The novel revolves around Rusty, an orphaned seventeen-year-old Anglo-Indian boy living in Dehradun. Due to his guardian, Mr Harrison's strict ways, he runs away from his home to live with his Indian friends.

The Room on the Roof
1987 edition cover
AuthorRuskin Bond
Original titleThe Room on the Roof
Cover artistClarf Bishop Dean
CountryIndia
LanguageEnglish
SeriesRuskin's famous Novels
GenreFiction
PublisherCoward-McCann (original)[1]
Penguin Books (current)
Publication date
1956
Media typePaperback
Pages160 pages (first edition)[1]
ISBN0140107835
OCLC1579534
Preceded byN/A 
Followed byVagrants in the Valley 

Summary

Rusty is an Indian. This is a story about an orphaned boy, from the Anglo-Indian descent, living in a European colony in Dehra (a place in Uttarakhand ) with his guardian Mr Harrison and his wife, who wants him to stay away from Indians and groom him as a pure Englishman. However, in this process, Harrison’s stringent behaviour purturbs Rusty’s flourishing teenage years. On the evening of Holi when Rusty returns home dirtily smeared in colours, the guardian begins beating him brutally, and then Rusty was unable to control his pent-up frustration pays him back by assaulting his guardian violently. He leaves his house and starts living with his friends

Characters

  • Rusty: an orphan boy
  • Mr John Harrison: A bad guardian of Rusty
  • Mrs Harrison: Mr Harrison's spouse
  • Kishen: A boy living in Rusty's neighbourhood
  • Mrs Meena Kapoor: Kishen's mother
  • Mr Kapoor: Kishen's father
  • Somi: A Punjabi boy, Rusty's friend
  • Ranbir: A muscular boy and the best wrestler in the bazaar.
  • Suri: A bespectacled and bony boy and Somi's friend.
  • Prickly Heat: Suri's dog

Critical reception

Upon release, the book received positive reviews. Santha Rama Rau of The New York Times commented "Like an Indian bazaar itself, the book is filled with the smells, sights, sounds, confusion and subtle organization of ordinary Indian life".[4] Herald Tribune said that the book "has a special magic of its own". San Francisco Chronicle said that the book has "considerable charm and spontaneity".

The Guardian called the book "very engaging". The Scotsman commented "Moving in its simplicity and underlying tenderness...a novel of marked originality". The New Statesman said that "Mr Bond is a writer of great gifts".[5] The Hindu said that "This story keeps you hooked with the many unexpected incidents... It’s a book worth reading! It will be enjoyed by readers greatly".

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References

  1. The Room on the Roof - Google Books. Google. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. "The Room on the Roof - Amazon.in". Amazon.in. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  3. "THE ROOM ON THE ROOF by Ruskin Bond". The Hindu. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  4. Santha Rama Rau (17 March 1957). "Escape To Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  5. "The Room on the Roof and Vagrants in the Valley" by Ruskin Bond". AbeBooks. Retrieved 4 September 2013.


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