Manu Joseph

Seventeen-year-old Unni Chacko has done something terrible. The only clue to his action lies in a comic strip he has drawn, which has fallen into the hands of his father Ousep, an anarchist. Ousep begins investigating the extraordinary life of his son, blissfully unaware that his long-suffering wife is plotting to kill him. Set in Madras in 1990, this is a darkly comic story involving the relentless pursuit of a failed writer who has found purpose, an adolescent cartoonist's dangerous interpretation of truth, the plots of a brilliant housewife, and the pure love of a twelve-year-old boy for a beautiful girl.

The Illicit Happiness Of Other People

Journalist Ousep Chacko wonders about his seemingly happy artist son's suspicious falling death and obsessively questions the youth's friends at the same time his other son falls for a secretive older girl.

The Illicit Happiness of Other People: A Novel

Caroline

The illicit happiness of other people was a book that I came across as a suggestion on my Fb account & I totally agree that this book is definitely one of India’s rare Contemporary young adults mystery/suspense reads. The story has a very simple plot where a seventeen year old boy commits suicide and his fathers struggle to find answers to the most obvious question as to “why his son did what he did”? Throughout the book you will come across a lot of characters and different stories as a build up to why the boy committed suicide. 

The book is written very beautifully which keeps the reader guessing till the end. The author also portrays the emotions a father goes through while he listens to all the happenings in his sons life from different people. The book also gives you a glimpse of life in Madras.

Though the book is depressing yet very thought provoking which makes this book a highly recommended book.

Anoop

One word: Unputdownable. Especially the final 2 chapters are so well written. There's so much to unpack but still it keeps the reader hooked.

In retrospect the story is saddening. A failed writer cum father, trying his shot at redemption through his relentless pursuit for the "truth". A devastated mother with a troubled past, but still following the duty of mothership in her own ways. A lost child, trying to find answers to the changes within himself and everything around him. And finally a teenager who's quest for the "truth" makes him question everything he knows.

It made me realise the importance of family, being accessible to your loved ones and how you can save yourself in your most vulnerable state. Just reach out. Seek professional help.

I also learnt the abbreviation of KGB and the real name of Pele. Now I just need to slyly slip these two facts into a conversation and pretend I know a lot.

Astha Prakash

Unforgettable characters, riveting story-lines and an amazing narration. The Illicit Happiness of Other People is one of those books that you stay awake at night for when you have work the next day, and it's totally worth it. It's wry, it's raw and it's witty. A fascinating read that will stay with you for a long, long time.

Seventeen-year-old Unni has done something terrible. The only clue to his actions lies in a comic strip he has drawn, which has fallen into the hands of his father Ousep - a nocturnal anarchist with a wife who is fantasizing about his early death. Ousep begins investigating the extraordinary life of his son, but as he circles closer and closer to the truth, he unravels a secret that shakes his family to the core. Set in Madras in the 1990s, where every adolescent male is preparing for the toughest exam in the world, this is a powerful and darkly comic story involving an alcoholic's probe into the minds of the sober, an adolescent cartoonist's dangerous interpretation of absolute truth, an inner circle of talented schizophrenics and the pure love of a 12-year-old boy for a beautiful girl.

The Illicit Happiness Of Other People

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