An Assistant Professor: A Novel of Sorts. A Tribute to R. K. Narayan

Dedicated to R. K. Narayan 15 Years After His Death A timeless search for personal identity where the various kinds of love penetrate one another in unexpected ways Following in the footsteps of his literary hero India’s R. K. Narayan the protagonist and assistant professor Thomas Sleiman explores the relationship among the different kinds of loves in the heady context of a search for personal identity. Erotic divine and familial loves all compete and complement one another in the life of Thomas who is not the regular literary gangster or the predictable member of a community of deviant dilettante. . .as the conclusion with all of its mysticism genuine affection respect for the “dead” Narayan and devotion to the beloved clearly testifies. - Anthony Aookeregbe In An Assistant Professor Salam skillfully combines postmodern and traditional perspectives to create a profound moving and sometimes disturbing vision of a life and career spanning ethnic geographical moral and ideological boundaries. . .As he surveys the wreckage of the postmodern world Salam’s carefully situated narrative is enriched by reflections on the literary work of Narayan and Graham Greene as well as on a shelf-full of contemporary poets philosophers and theologians. . .One is left in the end puzzling over whose voice is heard when the main character protests that “I dont live to write nor do I write to live. I am just an Assistant Professor professing mostly my ignorance of things that most everyone else thinks are obvious. For some mysterious reason I have been compelled lately to write a book which I want people to read. They will not be disappointed. - Meister Richard Woods O.P.