Writers just want their novels to be read twice: Manu Joseph

Factors ranging from bestselling lists to literary awards can very well establish an author's worth but all that a writer wants is for his work to be read more than once, says Manu Joseph, a journalist and author.
"All a writer wants is for the whole world to read his novel twice. Whenever a book is appreciated or features on any award shortlist, a writer is happy presuming at least the jury read his book more than once," the journalist writer told PTI in an interview.
Joseph's second novel, "The Illicit Happiness of Other People" is among the 15 works longlisted for the fourth edition of the USD 50,000 DSC South Asian Literature Prize , whose winner is set to be announced at the Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2014.

"I am really happy about the assurance that the jury will read the book at least twice. I also hope that one day I will be able to convert all my novels into films," he said.
Joseph's book is set in Madras in the 1990s, where every adolescent male is preparing for the toughest exam in the world.
The book revolves around a 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.