The Illicit Happiness of Other People |
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| Author:
| Joseph, Manu |
| ISBN: | 979-8-4148-6343-4 |
| Publication Date: | Feb 2022 |
| Publisher: | Independently Published
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | USD $13.72 |
Book Description:
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THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE By Manu Joseph One day a 17-year-old cartoonist gets a hair-cut, plays a bit of cricket, goes home, and jumps off the terrace head first. No one knows why. His anarchic father suspects that the clues are in a stack of cartoons the boy has left behind, and he sets out to investigate. ***
"The Illicit Happiness of Other People is ambitious. It is the story of a family getting to know itself, of a socialist India that no longer...
More Description
THE ILLICIT HAPPINESS OF OTHER PEOPLE
By Manu Joseph
One day a 17-year-old cartoonist gets a hair-cut, plays a bit of cricket, goes home, and jumps off the terrace head first. No one knows why. His anarchic father suspects that the clues are in a stack of cartoons the boy has left behind, and he sets out to investigate.
***
"The Illicit Happiness of Other People is ambitious. It is the story of a family getting to know itself, of a socialist India that no longer exists and of a society obsessed with grades. It is a plot-driven yarn with themes of morality, sexuality, psychiatry and yet more science and philosophy.... But it does not feel overburdened.... Quite an achievement."
The Economist
"Joseph's prose is exquisitely phrased without an excess of sentimentality...The confident, immersing voice of Illicit Happiness promises readers this is not the last we've heard of Manu Joseph."
Telegraph (UK)
"Wonderful... The Illicit Happiness of Other People...injects dark, rueful laughter into an immensely touching story of loss."
Wall Street Journal
"Starred review. Joseph writes with extraordinary wit, cunning and sympathy about both family relationships and ultimate mysteries."
Kirkus Reviews
"The novel is an admirable blend of plot and ideas, of a story that reads like a mystery but also of the kind of philosophical and social observations that are worth pausing for and underlining. ...Indeed, with Happiness, Joseph has made a convincing case for exploring the depths of joy the way so many of his predecessors have plunged into melancholy."
Jaime Netzer , Kirkus Reviews
"Joseph's smart new novel is laced with black humor and keen observations on human nature...Joseph's rich characters intersect in moments of tenderness."
Publishers Weekly
"Ingeniously constructed.... [Joseph is] using his witty, incisive writing to explore the great philosophical questions of happiness and life."
Manil Suri, author of The City of Devi
"The Illicit Happiness of Other People is both a terribly funny and deeply sad story.... Beautifully written.... Manu Joseph perfectly captures his characters in his precise, sharp prose."
Ariel Balter , New York Journal of Books
"Joseph's smart new novel is laced with black humor and keen observations on human nature... Joseph's rich characters intersect in moments of tenderness."
Publishers Weekly
"Sublime...Joseph's witty narrative adds depth and vigor to the Chacko family's tale and assuredly explores the complexity of self-perception amid present-day life."
Leah Strauss , Booklist
"Fusing ribald farce with poignant drama...Joseph deftly rotates narrative points of view...[and] embellishes each strand with vibrant dabs of local color...that help showcase India in all its sublime and absurd glory...Wild, irreverent and blackly comic."
Malcolm Forbes , Star Tribune