Serious Men

Author: Manu Joseph.
Win: The Hindu Best Fiction Award

When I picked ‘The Serious Men’ from Landmark, I read the back cover, saw Manu’s profile, read the first few lines of the novel. I knew, this is the pick for my day. First chapter into the book, and I was 100% sure, it was indeed delightful. Fondness for Mumbai and adequate dosage of humor, were the first things which attracted me. Well, then this is the first time, I am seeing and reading about the lives and thoughts of the scientists in this light. In complete rapture, I savored very page.

Later when I saw Manu was shortlisted for the award, I was like wow. Till then I didn’t know about Manu or about his book received by the critics. So when I picked the book, it was the book that spoke to me, and not the reviews. Anyways, the reports did not mention Manu as the touted winner. I somehow kept the disappointment to myself. I tried reading about the shortlisted books and the other writers, and somewhere I wanted to Manu to win. It was quite biased, as the other authors I read before were Anjum and Upamanyu.

I was traveling when the results were announced, and my joy knew no bounds when I came to Manu won. I feel the sense of having enjoyed the book, which was certified by the critics later, was the reason of this euphoria. The same happened with Johnny Cash too, will tell about it later.

So here’s to the new writer on the block, Manu. Stay the same.