Well I do admire Chetan Bhagat for his breaking into the literature world with his 'not hard to fathom' writing. Five point someone was definitely a breath of fresh air. Especially when it came from an Indian author and also because we mere mortals were allowed a peek into the world of IIT. The books that followed were not stellar works but were merely riding on the success of his first book. He chose his subjects wisely. He knew exactly what clicks in India and what doesn't. IIT, IIM, call centers and of course cricket. He has covered them all. Except Bollywood, I thought he used up all the subjects Indians would give a damn about. And just when we thought he might have ran out of ideas to keep the desis enthralled, came the Anna Hazare movement. And Bang on!...perfect timing...Revolution 2020.
Keeping aside the assumption that he was writing to get his books sold, I 'tried' reading with no preconceived notions. It deals with the lives of three friends and how their lives and decisions are intertwined to affect the outcomes that they face. But the book wasn't unputdownable. It felt like a seen and forgotten plot in a typical 'gangster and goons vs quirky clean politician' movie. Unlike his other books, the main protagonist 'Gopal' was not likeable. I couldn't empathize with him. The book claims to be about three friends but gives very little or no insight about the third character Raghav's thoughts. The female lead 'Aarti' in the story was portrayed disturbingly well. Like any girl she was confused, clueless and seemed to have no idea about what she was doing. The book fails to throw light on the reasons behind many of the characters' actions and decisions. Towards the end of the book it felt the story was forced to wrap up. I'm not sure whether it will be an eye opener to others but it definitely didn't revolutionalize my thoughts. I have to say this was my least favorite of all the Chetan Bhagat books. It lacked both the humor and sensitivity which he cleverly infused into his previous attempts. Read the book if you are on a roll and have been following all his books so far. Else there is absolutely no harm in missing this one.
