The Room on the Roof, Vagrants in the Valley : Two Novels of Adolescence

The book, The Room On The Roof, Vagrants In The Valley: Two Novels Of Adolescence, is a collection of two novels written by the famous Indian author with a British background, Ruskin Bond. The novel, The Room On The Roof, was the first literary work by Ruskin Bond, which was written by him at the age of seventeen and published at the age of twenty one. This book was followed by the second novel, Vagrants In The Valley. Many believe that the second novel is a continuation of the first novel.

Both novels have Ruskin Bond's signature simple writing style, masterfully described scenes of nature, and palpable emotion that is evident in the coming-of-age style of both stories. The novel, The Room On The Roof is the story of a sixteen year old Anglo Indian boy named Rusty who lives in Dehradun. This orphan boy happens to stay with his strict guardian, Mr. Harrison, whose strict ways become difficult to live with for the young Rusty. This teenaged boy, one day, runs away from his home to stay with his Indian friends.

The novel beautifully brings out the enthusiasm and the interest of Rusty who is both inquisitive and willing to know about the Indian culture and traditions. The novel also brings out unexpected things that Rusty feels and experiences.

The Room On The Roof, Vagrants In The Valley: Two Novels Of Adolescence is available in the paperback format and has been published by Penguin India in a new edition in the year 2000.

About the author

Ruskin Bond is the author of several bestselling novels and collections of short stories, essays and poems. These include The Room on the Roof (winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize), A Flight of Pigeons, The Night Train at Deoli, Time Stops at Shamli, Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra (winner of the Sahitya Akademi Award), Angry River, The Blue Umbrella, Rain in the Mountains, Roads to Mussoorie, A Little Night Music, Tigers for Dinner, Tales of Fosterganj, and A Gathering of Friends.

Ruskin Bond was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1999, a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Delhi government in 2012 and the Padma Bhushan in 2014.

Author            : Ruskin Bond

Publisher      ‏  : Penguin Random House India

Binding Type  : Paperback

Language       : English 

ISBN-13         ‏ : ‎ 978-0140239591