The Aspirant by Mathew Joseph is a brilliantly written memoir with a lot of stories spiraling from the author’s life. Published by Leadstart, the book is divided into two parts and stretches up to 300 pages with 11 chapters. The book starts with Mathew taking us first to New York where he is mistakenly picked up by the police and soon the narrative transports the readers to the monastic life of a young boy in some church in Kerala.
Though it is a memoir, the writing style makes it more appealing than its plaintive genre. Broadly, the book is about one aspiration. The narrator wanted to be a Carmelite Monk but rather landed in a government job as a civil servant. Right in the beginning, the author has provided good coverage on how a malleable life is led in a monastery. He has given minute details with vernacular jargons and their meanings. Other than a memoir, the book also holds good value of theology. People interested in church and its allied monastery life, can look forward to pick up this book.
How did the boy land up in hedonistic dream from the monastery? If you pick up the book, your questions shall be answered. The narration is really captivating and the way stories of foreign land, Draupadi Ghat, Delhi and so on are told, is really superb. It is one such memoir that is read with gusto of fiction, as it has no predictable turns. Yes, based on real life…but storytelling matters. Mr. Joseph has fully leveraged his life experiences to come up with such an exquisite read. Brilliant language and pace, this book answers many questions about life that one might be looking all around.
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About the Author:
Mathew Joseph was born in central Kerala and after having lived and worked in most parts of India, he has moved to Bangalore where he lives currently. He spent his teenage years aspiring to become a Carmelite monk, before embarking up on a career in civil service. He holds two degrees, one in philosophy, and another in psychology in addition to a master’s in business administration. He is a former civil servant and an ardent nature lover and avid traveller.