3 Review(s)

The Illicit Happiness of Other People is a contemporary novel set in Madras in 1990. Summary of the Book When seventeen year old Unni Chacko makes a terrible decision, there is only one clue which can explain why. His anarchist father Ousep finds a comic strip Unni has drawn and begins looking into the extraordinary life of his son. Ousep is a journalist and failed novelist who has few likeable traits. He returns home late after drinking at a pub, disturbing the neighbours as he does so. His wife has had enough of his antics. Having suffered long enough, she plots to kill him. A black comedy revolving around the lives of a failed writer who has found purpose, a young cartoonist’s dangerous representation of truth, the machinations of a brilliant housewife and the innocent love of a 12 year old boy for a beautiful girl, this story will enchant readers and teases them with its mystery and philosophy. About Manu Joseph Manu Joseph is an Indian journalist and writer, currently based in Delhi. His previous book is entitled Serious Men. Joseph was the features editor of The Times of India and has previously written for The Independent and Wired. A graduate of Loyola College, Chennai, he won The Hindu Literary Prize and the PEN/Open Book Award for his earlier novel. The Illicit Happiness of Other People was also shortlisted for The Hindu Literary Prize in 2013.