Waiting for the next one from Manu Joseph.

Except for the short while when I thought the protagonist in this one is also going to end up like the one in the Illicit Happiness, it was good fun.
( )

A book ruined by one dimensional women characters and misogyny - Reviewed here... wp.me/p3AQNV-2ES ( )

Waiting for the next one from Manu Joseph.

Except for the short while when I thought the protagonist in this one is also going to end up like the one in the Illicit Happiness, it was good fun.
( )

I thought this would be a funny, satirical novel. While it does have many touches of humor, it is also a serious examination of the lingering effects of the caste system in contemporary India.

Its hero Mani is a former untouchable ("Dalit'), who began life with aspirations. Now, he's stuck, and he knows it. He lives with his wife and son in "BDD Chawl", "..a hive of ten thousand one-room homes carved inside a hundred and twenty identical three-storyed buildings that stood like grey ruins, their paint long removed by old rains." 80,000 people live in these buildings, and Mani had wanted to break away from that world. As he has come to realize that he will not, he decides to help his son achieve more than did.

Mani works as the administrative aide to the head of a scientific research institute. The primary focus of the institute is the research for extraterrestrial life, and there is an ongoing dispute among the scientists as to what the best way to proceed is. The head of the institute is in favor of one methodology; other scientists favor different methodologies. What unites the scientists is that they are all of former Brahmin caste. There is an unspoken belief among them that the untouchable class is, in fact, inferior and that its members do not have the intelligence and could not achieve the education to become scientists, or to otherwise advance from menial positions. Most of the non-scientific staff at the institute are of lower castes, and they, including Mani, are essentially invisible to the scientists.

Mani's position may be one of invisibility, but due to the knowledge his position makes him privy to (and some knowledge that he comes upon by spying) he is able to manipulate some things behind the scenes. He wants to prove his son is a genius, and capable of becoming a research scientist. Suddenly, his son begins blurting out questions at school that stump his teachers. His reputation soars, and he becomes known as the brightest student at the school. The school principal tells Mani, "How beautifully you've forgiven the people who brutalized your forefathers. The Brahmins, the kind of things they did. The things they do even now. In private, they still call you the Untouchables, do you know that?" A newspaper article is mysteriously published in a local newspaper reporting that Mani's son Adi has placed first in a nation-wide scientific exam. Soon rumors of Adi's genius are everywhere, even at the institute.

I enjoyed this book, though there was a situation in which the head scientist has an affair with a female scientist which went on a bit too long, and which I felt portrayed the female scientist in an unrealistic light. I suppose this incident was necessary for the plot development, but it didn't have to take such a prominent position. Nevertheless, I recommend this book without reservations. ( )

Not sure how I heard about this book but I am glad that I read it. It is a social satire about the highs and lows of Indian society set in Mumbai. The main character is a dalit(formerly an untouchable) who works for an Institute that explores potential extraterrestrial life and is run by the highest level of Indian society. The contrasts between the 2 create an excellent story. Ayyan the clerk manipulates and cleverly creates chaos to elevate his son and stir up problems at the Institute. I thought the writing was excellent and the insight into Indian society was a positive by product of an excellent and funny book. Based on this I am going to read his 2nd novel. I definitely recommend this. ( )