{"product_id":"the-illicit-happiness-of-other-people-9780393338621","title":"The Illicit Happiness of Other People","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe PEN Open Book Award called Manu Joseph \"that rare bird who can wildly entertain his readers as forcefully as he moves them.\" In \u003cem\u003eThe Illicit Happiness of Other People\u003c\/em\u003e, Joseph brilliantly brings his talents to the story of an Indian Christian family living far afield in south India.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt has been three years since seventeen-year-old Unni Chacko mysteriously fell from a balcony to his death. His family--journalist father Ousep, who smokes two cigarettes at once \"because three is too much\"; mother Mariamma, who fantasizes gleefully about murdering her husband; and twelve-year-old love-struck brother Thoma with zero self-esteem, have coped by not coping. When the post office delivers a comic drawn by Unni that had been lost in the mail, Ousep, shocked out of his stupor, ventures on a quest to understand his son and rewrite his family's story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCombining family drama with philosophy, social satire with satisfying storytelling, \u003cem\u003eThe Illicit Happiness of Other People\u003c\/em\u003e reminds us that the greatest mystery of all--the one most worth our time and energy--is understanding the people we love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJoseph, Manu:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cstrong\u003eManu Joseph\u003c\/strong\u003e, who lives in New Delhi, is a columnist for the \u003ci\u003eInternational Herald Tribune\u003c\/i\u003e. His first novel, \u003ci\u003eSerious Men\u003c\/i\u003e, won the PEN\/Open Book Award and was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize.","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50324032749842,"sku":"9780393338621","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_8fe6f217-b5c9-41d6-bfcc-d908b1930953.jpg?v=1727664787","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-illicit-happiness-of-other-people-9780393338621","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}