Take a bow Chetan bhagat... Review on The Three Mistakes of My Life - Chetan Bhagat

I read five point some one. I liked it

I read on night at call center. I found it bollywoodish. I found it  good only in parts.

And then…I read – The three mistakes of my life!

Welcome readers…welcome to the world of mature themes!

The book is brilliant, more so because it touches upon a sensitive theme….religious fanaticism to name just one. Cricket to the name the second one!

*The Author:

Chetan Bhagat(CB from now on) is a master in creating a ‘build-up’ and he does the same here. Opening the story with a suicide note is definitely an idea which works well in keeping the readers engaged.(Remember – all the readers of CB are not the ones with thick specs who like to wear ADULT clothes and take life way too seriously. The target audience for CB has been the 19 upwards and boy he does good to engage them!)

The way the book starts…and the manner in which you are transported to chapter one is just a perfect example of perfect story-telling. The characters are etched quite carefully and the realism that CB injects in every one of them is to be read to be believed. The conversations between the characters, the situations, the mood-swings – everything is penned perfectly.

The characters:

As mentioned above, the characters are etched carefully with a touch of realism. Be it the so called idiot – Omi, the cricket fanatic – Ish, the guy called ‘G’, Bittoo mama, or Ali! I found Vidya a little too advanced for a small town girl, but then…as CB says – Girls – they are so small in size but are so unpredictable…so I wont go on and on about her here.

All the circumstances are real humdingers! I am actually tempted to cite one or two examples but I won’t since I do not want to give away anything.

The story:

The story is top-drawer with cricket as a background. Although I should warn that things are not going to run as humorously-smooth as they were in Five point someone or in One night at the call center. The back-drop is Gujrat and some recent not-so-good events in Gujrat do get a mention in this novel. The ease with which you will get scared by reading the last chapters is to be experienced on your own to be believed. I remember bunking gym and sitting in the sun to finish the last chapters of the book.

The novel has a lovely theme – Hate does what it likes to(i.e) Killing people, ending lives…whereas love does what it must – preserve lives and spread humanity! 3 Cheers to such a lovely theme by CB.

Things I liked a lot:

1. Perfect portray of Ish’s cricket crazy nature…any idiot…or a not-so-idiot can relate himself with it with consummate ease

   
   




2. A sense of Deja-vu(Five point someone, ON@TCC) when CB describes the romance between the couple(wont mention the names here!)….looks like CB has a vast pool of experience to borrow the ‘moments’ from!

   
   




3. Perfect description of what is wrong with cricket training in India…actually the entire training system in India. I really liked this part.

   
   




4. Ease with which CB potrays the Gory scenes of rioting…I wish I could write more on this point, but I seriously don’t want to give away the essence of the story here

   
   




5. A little bit of a flimsy climax….but its written in a picture perfect manner!(Ooh! I wish I could write more)…Much to my surprise(and relief I must say as I was really concerned and worried while flipping pages towards the climax!) there is a bit of cricket involved…and NOTHING…absolutely nothing can make you think that the writer has taken some ‘creative liberties’ towards the climax!

   
   




6. The manner in which the chemistry between friends is mentioned, especially those situations in which the ‘businessman’ has to sacrifice his wishes for the sake of his friends….awesomely done!

   
   




7. The manner in which CB has described about the'Protocol' in friendship.Its just refreshing.am sorry cant mention anything about it.DO read and find it out yourself.we all know it.yet some of us do break it isnt it?;)

   
   




8. Little things which we experience daily but dont take a notice.for example at least I hate it when you call someone on the phone and they say'TELL ME'.and well CB has mentioned this in his book as well! Brilliant!

   
   




9. Last but certainly not the least - I just loved the CONTENT of the last SMS which G sends to Chetan Bhagat.believe it or not, I read it twice or thrice(just the SMS, as mentioned in the book) and found a lump in my throat.Kudos!

   
   

I can go on and on as I am very excited, but I would really encourage you guys to go ahead and grab a copy for yourself(its still 95 bucks!) and check the devil yourself!

Please rate my review and leave comments….

Thanks and May Peace and joy Prevail……