In Serious Men, Manu Joseph, tells a funny and touching tale about the struggles of a dalit man who tries to seek easy opportunities at the expense of his boss,a director at the Institute of Theory and Research, all in an effort to add value to his family’s life.
Summary Of The Book
Readers are introduced to Ayyan Mani, a struggling dalit, who works at the Institute of Theory and Research as a low paid assistant to an intelligent astronomer, Arvind Acharya. Mani has only one goal in his life, to bring joy into the misery of his family’s existence. In an effort to entertain himself, Mani fabricates two stories. One about a romance between his married boss and an astrobiologist. The second concerning his own son and a fictitious tale about his intellect. Ayyan’s deceptions quickly become intertwined threatening to expose him.
At the same time, Acharya’s theory about microscopic extraterrestrials is threatened by accusations of falsifying data and interoffice politics. Mani, sees this as a chance to move ahead with his own deception.
Through Serious Men, Josephs intelligently paints a hilarious portrayal of the male ego and the drollness of academia.
Serious Men received the Hindu Literary Prize in 2010, and the PEN Open Book Award in 2011. It was also on theHuffington Post’s Top 10 List in 2010.
About The Author
Manu Joseph is a writer, author, journalist and current editor at Open Magazine.
Apart from Serious Men, he has also authored The Illicit Happiness Of Other People, which was published in 2012 by Fourth Estate. It is a satirical take on the domestic life in southern India, and is also autobiographical.
Joseph’s writing style is satirical, which he uses to talk about several themes including love, relationships and class.
Manu Joseph is a native of Kottayam, Kerala. He graduated from Loyola College. Joseph has written for several esteemed magazines and newspapers including The Times of India, The Independent and Wired. He currently resides in Delhi. Manu has been a Chevening Scholar, which enables students from more than 100 countries to study in UK.
