The 3 mistakes of my life
A Story about
business . cricket . religion
Publisher: RUPA & CO.
Category: Fiction
Format: Paperback
Pages: 280
List Price: 95.00 INR
Release Date: May 2008
This long awaited book of one of the newest ‘surprise’ finds of the Indian literary community was released last month. And I, being a self-proclaimed ‘avid reader’ immediately lapped it up and finished it on the trot.
No soon was I done with it, I took up the famed pen (the keyboard and a word processor in the 21st century) to give vent to my thoughts on the latest ‘exploits’ of Chetan Bhagat. And so ‘here I am’, blogging again.
Prologue
‘the 3 Mistakes of my life’ is the third novel by Chetan Bhagat - an investment banker by profession and a writer by choice. An IIM Ahemdabad alumnus, he recently shifted base to India. His previous works were ‘One Night @ the Call Centre’ and ‘Five Point Someone’.
‘Five Point Someone’ became one of the highest selling English novels published in India, and has remained on the bestsellers list until 2007 since its release in 2004. It was adapted into a play by the theatre group Madras Players, and is soon going to be converted into a Bollywood movie. The same goes for ‘One Night @ the Call Centre’.
Comparisons to previous works are almost always inevitable, but they should not form an evaluation criterion. I have tried as much here. But the point of contention is that ‘3 Mistakes of my life’ is similar in more aspects than one to the previous works of Chetan Bhagat. I nevertheless have tried to do justice.
Narration
The ‘Chetan Bhagat’ style of writing emerged with ‘Five Point Someone’. It can be described as plain, simple, easily relate-able way of presenting a seemingly believable story with a happy ending. Needless to say that his writing is full of vim and vigor. And, the narrative is consistent.
Plot/Characters
What strikes you first about Chetan Bhagat’s novels is the fact that he is an Indian who writes about Indians and for Indians. His characters are all simple, young, ambitious and passionate and have the same moral, social and religious dilemmas as many of the young Indians today. At the same time their context and sensibility too is unabashedly Indian.
“In the year 2000, in Ahmedabad, a young boy Govind dreamt of owning a business. For this he needed the support and help of his best friends; Ish and Omi. He alone has the business acumen. But, the other two are vital support as they are pillars to the foundation of Govind’s dream. Together they open a cricket shop. However, nothing comes easy in India. To realise their goals, they have to face it all – religion, politics, earthquakes, riots, traditions, unacceptable love and above all, their own mistakes.”
With this new book of his, Chetan Bhagat has once again demonstrated that he has perfected the art of story writing for the Indian audience. His books have all that it takes to be a successful writer. He writes books which reach out to the common man and exhorts the youth to read the book.
The plot is akin to a typical ‘Masala Bollywood Movie’ plot. That is to say that all his books have the following ingredients, one way or the other:
1. Typical Small Town setting
2. A poor - intelligent person (his life is fraught with trouble; now how many movies we have on this theme àcountless)
3. A wealthy - unapproachable beautiful girl
4. A couple of very good friends (remember the ever successful theme: ‘yeh dosti hum nahin chodenge from Sholay’)
5. Love, Romance, Sex (the perfect Bollywood movie masala)
6. A tragedy (Suicide to be precise)
7. A happy ending (after all, all’s well that ends well)
Language
This has always been ‘Chetan Bhagat’s’ forte. All his books use simple, ‘common man’s’ words. They are aptly supported by simple sentences. All this brings an ease of reading for the poorest in terms of vocabulary.
This is where the universal appeal of his books springs from. This coupled with the growing positive sentiments about India’s economy had probably given rise to a craving inside Indian people for books that had an Indian protagonist and not an anglicized one. This is captured by Chetan Bhagat and presented in the best possible manner. Kudos to him for this.
Underlying Theme
With this book Chetan Bhagat seems to be carrying on from his previous work. In fact now that I’ve read all his books, i’m of opinion that he is stuck in the days of his college, where either he himself underwent struggle or was a witness to the struggles of a dear friend. The underlying theme is the biggest disappointment as far as this book is concerned. The same theme was clearly evident in the other two books by the Chetan Bhagat. The only difference here is that, the three 'five pointers' are not in an IIT but strugglers in the real sense of the word - running a small business of their own in Ahmedabad.
Value for money
Like all his earlier books, this book too is priced at INR 95, which at the prevailing inflation rate is a certain steal.
The pricing of the book also shows a win-win strategy. He shows his acumen for business by pricing his books at a meager 95 INR, which is less by any standard. By doing this he has obviated the risk of piracy.
Final Verdict 7/10
The book is certainly not an excellent literary work. But it is nevertheless, a definite page turner and a ‘recommended’ read for all ‘Chetan Bhagat’ fans. The success of Chetan Bhagat as an author goes to the numerous cords that he has touched with a common Indian.
For Chetan Bhagat fans:
Die-hard Chetan Bhagat fans will not be disappointed. This book has all the ingredients that Chetan Bhagat is loved and lapped up for. Simple characters and seemingly believable storyline one can relate to. So I won't discuss the plot - read the book if you like the ‘Chetan Bhagat style’ of storytelling, keep away, if you don't.
For all others:
It certainly is not as thrilling as five point someone’, but makes for a good, compelling read nevertheless. I’d say at Rs 95 for a book, this book makes for a ‘light’ read and is a fine time pass. The biggest disappointment comes in the form of the climax along with the reason cited for suicide. The impetus for writing this novel is one of the lamest excuses I’ve ever come across. is the biggest cliché.
To be honest I’ll say that I am disappointed with this book. It is not that there is anything in this book that I dislike in particular. It’s just that I expected too much.
But overall, the book packs enough punch and of course the price is just perfect (Rs 95). We have another winner.
No comments:
Post a Comment