Author: Chetan Bhagat V
Language: English
Length: 268 pages
Publisher: Rupa Publication India
Link From Authors website: http://www.chetanbhagat.com/books/half-girlfriend/
Price: INR 176
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As far as my knowledge goes, this is the seventh book by Chetan Bhagat. A brief background about him as written on his website.
"Chetan Bhagat is the author of six blockbuster books. These include five novels—Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011)—and the non-fiction title What Young India Wants (2012).
Half-Girlfriend, his seventh book and sixth novel, releases in October 2014.
Chetan’s books have remained bestsellers since their release. Four out his five novels have been already adapted into successful Bollywood films and the others are in process of being adapted as well.
The New York Times called him the ‘the biggest selling English language novelist in India’s history’. Time magazine named him amongst the ‘100 most influential people in the world’ and Fast Company, USA, listed him as one of the world’s ‘100 most creative people in business’."
Now, how did the seventh book fare. Not so well many would say. I was looking at the umpteen reviews written on most social networking sites and on ecommerce websites and was stunned to see the negative review that this book has generated.
I thought that i will not get prejudiced with all the negative comments and tried to clear my conscience and read the review with a light and clear head. I finished this book in 8-9 hours. I then passed the book onto my wife. She has recently found love for books and fiction. To my surprise, she read through the book at exactly the same pace as me. This surprised me and i asked her, how she could have read through the book at just about the same pace as me. The answer stumped me. She said that the book was an easy read and didnot have tough words or superfluous language.
More than anything else i would say this is a great achievement of Chetan Bhagat. Despite being well versed with the Indian language he chooses to use 'simple english'. I agree with Chetan when he says he writes for the masses. Tell me how many authors are there that claim today to have the reach that a Chetan Bhagat novel has. Not many and certainly not anyone in India. Yes, he may have disappointed us with the story line and the plot, however, the content is for a much larger consumption and has to be written with this in mind.
Chetan has done a commendable job yet again with superb narration that is consistent and in sync for most. The script does flow well however seem to point to few inconsistencies that i am more than glad to overlook. The only let down of this book is the plot and it is a let down in a big way. I am with most others when i say that i feel that Chetan with his caliber could have done a much much better job with the plot.
I however, give full credit to Chetan for a tight book that is light reading and appeals to a wider audience of anyone from early teen to an octogenarian. However you are not going to win any literature awards while quoting text out of this book.
All in all a decent read. My 3.5 on 5 overall for the book. As always you read, you decide.
You can buy the book from here:
http://www.flipkart.com/half-girlfriend-english/p/itmdys62bm3pvww8?pid=9788129135728
http://www.landmarkonthenet.com/half-girlfriend-by-chetan-bhagat-books-9788129135728-28649496/
http://www.amazon.in/Half-Girlfriend-Chetan-Bhagat/dp/8129135728
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