Wednesday, June 4, 2008

"The 3 Mistakes of My Life"

“The Three Mistakes of My Life”

For anyone who has read “Five Point Someone”, reading this book would seem to be the Fourth Mistake of your life. Well, initially that is. If you are one who would still give it a chance and continue reading, “The Three Mistakes of My Life” redeems itself.

An easy read which tries to combine Cricket and Religion, Business and Relationships and the ups and downs of all these. That’s just what it is. Coupled with this and the fact that it is a 250-odd page book, you don’t need to put your life on hold to complete this one. I personally finished it 24 hours after I bought it. And for the cost, it is a decent addition to your collection.

For the downside, the initial bit does leave you wanting more and wondering why the plot isn’t gripping enough, in spite of it’s fast pace. The answer to that, I believe, is that the fast pace comes from the many “few-month” flashbacks and jumps in the future. And that leaves certain gaps in this narrative. Another thing which I found off the mark is the fact that the small-town characters speak rather fluent and “teen slang” English. No offence here to people from small towns, but it’s something that’s difficult to connect with. It is almost as if every spoken word in Gujju and Hindi is literally translated to English. That fact stands out in the indulgent use of profanities. Also, death is a powerful instrument to evoke sentiment and emotions. In this book, however, you just don’t feel that “something” when faced with death. It is a matter-of-fact-thing where you are still left looking forward to the “big event”. Then there are certain plots that are too far-fetched, like the trip down under. And seem to be inspired by the author’s recent foray into Bollywood script writing.

But Chetan Bhagat is an IIT-IIM combo, and one only expects these guys to know their stuff. This guy knows his target audience and knows what they want too. Enter: a complicated romantic plot. Again, not half as gripping as the one in “Five Point…” but it does add the much needed masala and something to look forward to. The saving grace of the book is its last 4 chapters. Absolutely gripping. They tell a story all of us know and that’s when the true connection with the readers is made. This is where you begin to visualize what you read and want to know what happens next. The author has chosen to tread carefully, and without inviting the wrath of political parties and workers, he reflects incidents which we have all read about.

To sum it up, the book just isn’t gripping and thought provoking enough considering that it combines cricket, religion, rioting, business, money and love. But for those who indulge in serious reading (the Biz reading types), “The Three Mistakes of My Life” is a good opportunity for a light read which isn’t too time consuming.

Overall Rating: 6/10

No comments: