Books like Serious men by Manu Joseph

Ayyan Mani, a low‑caste assistant in a prominent Mumbai research institute, resents his privileged superiors. When he orchestrates a stunt that catapults his half‑deaf son into the spotlight as a local genius, his mischief spirals into a larger conflict involving the institute’s top researcher, Arvind Acharya. Acharya, meanwhile, is passionately pursuing a theory that extraterrestrial microbes are falling from the upper atmosphere—an endeavor that threatens to be derailed by a romantic involvement with an astrobiologist. Ayyan’s conniving actions intersect with Acharya’s scientific ambitions, creating a tangled web of ambition, social inequality, and scientific intrigue set against the backdrop of modern Mumbai. The novel blends satire and social commentary, exploring themes of class, ambition, the clash of traditional customs and modern scientific pursuits, and the complex dynamics between mentors and their assistants in a research hub.

First publish date: 2010