Q: What happens when you have a long, boring night ride in an empty train and, SUDDENLY, an ‘extremely pretty young girl’ enters the compartment and smiles at you and starts talking to you??
A: Well, if you are Chetan Bhagat, then she gives you the story for your second book.
i.e. LOTS OF TIME + Boy and a Girl alone = a BOOK
(What were you thinking ???)
Q: So, the book is about call centers (CC)?
A: So You read the title, did you?
(Ask a stupid Q, get a stupid A)
STORY
(Plot Not Revealed)
Its the story of the lives of 6 call center agents working together in a CC office called Connexions in Gurgaon, Delhi.
We take a peek into their lives as they contemplate their future in the game of life, even as they assess their present and try to deal with their past. Ambitions, sorrow, love and happiness collide as each tries to untangle the mess that their lives are in, and find their true calling.
Just when things can’t get worse for most of them, they stare at death, when they get a call from God.
TAGLINE
Are you ready to take the call?
CHARACTERS
I don’t intend to reveal the plot, but I will give you this teaser, if you will.
As Siddhu would say “ This review is like a bikini. What it reveals is suggestive, but what it conceals is vital”.
Bhagat tells this story from Shyam Mehra’s perspective i.e. Shyam is the narrator.
(Each character has a pseudonym to make it easier for US callers to pronounce)
Shyam Mehra aka Sam Marcy/Mason
-Waiting for his deserved promotion to team leader, on hold thanks to his boss
-Feels he is useless, good-for-nothing and a Loser with a capital L
-A passive 26-year-old
From the book:That is the story of my life; Half the things I say go unnoticed.
At the start of the book, Shyam has a semi-new-girlfriend but still harbours feelings for Priyanka who had broken up with him(or as Shyam puts it: She dumped me)
Priyanka
-former girlfriend of Shyam
-very assertive
-regularly fights with her mom, which normally ends in tears
-her mom is looking for a rich NRI for her to marry
Which brings us to the guy Shyam talks to, about Priyanka and other things, his friend Varun
Varun Malhotra aka Victor Mell aka Vroom
-as Vroom suggests, loves anything on wheels
-Passionately worked in a newspaper once and is unhappy with current job
-A 22-year-old handsome guy who needs his bike, pizzas, parties and women (which change every 3 months – the women, that is)
-His parents divorce often affects him
From the book: I earn, I eat, I buy shi* and I die. That is all the f there is to Vroom.
Varun really likes his colleague Esha who rejected him when he first asked
Esha Singh aka Eliza Singer
-definitely hot, yet a bit short
-wants to become a model
-left her home in Chandigarh against her parents wishes
Esha always likes it when she is complemented for her dress sense by Priyanka and Radhika
Radhika Jha aka Regina Jones
-has tried hard to fit into her highly traditional husband’s family
-sacrificed her earlier lifestyle and jeans for a sari-clad old-fashioned wife role
In the midst of these young folk is a 50+ guy
Military Uncle
-oldest at the CC
-had a fight with his daughter-in-law, thus kicked out of their lives by son
-doesn’t talk much
-always giving the ‘you-young-people’ look
Which brings us to the problem-creator in their lives, their boss Bakshi
Subhash Bakshi
-Manager of Connexions
-Boss who’s both stupid and evil
-around 30 but looks 40 and speaks like he’s 50
-Speaks in Mangese (from Management), a language involving excessive technical jargon like proactively oriented and underlying variables.
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WHAT WORKS
The first person approach
The story is told from Shyam’s angle and as with his first book, this effectively makes the book a page-turner that has to be finished in one go (I took 3 hours).
The youth-friendly language
Its friendly, its as if there is a conversation and you are in the midst of it, you can identify with the language, the slang, even the frequently used abuses that add an element of reality to it all. Expect the f-word, and grow up and except that it’s a part of the youth jargon.
The discussions about call centers
From the book: We are sacrificing an entire generation to service their call centers.
300, 000 twenty-something Indians imitating American accents. Is that the future of India? Chetan Bhagat opens a fierce debate that is sure to encourage a lot of further discussion.
Are call centers really utilizing the full potential of a person or are they dumbing down a generation just because they pay decent money? Hard questions indeed.
More twists and turns than a Formula 1 racetrack
Yup, this book has twists galore as Chetan Bhagat exhibits just why his simple writing somehow works with some impressive plots that made sure you finish it in one session. The conversation with God was enjoyable and insightful.
THE IMPERFECTIONS
The English
Its simple language, but sometimes its just too simple. Yes, it is effective but cmon the English language has so many choice words that can so effortlessly express a situation, that it seems a crime not to use them. In trying to appeal to the masses, I feel Bhagat has missed a trick.
The movie angle – better as a movie than a book
Bollywood beware, this book has the makings of a successful movie. As I turned each page I felt more and more that it was a movie that had been converted to a book. It had all the elements a movie would need to succeed, but as a book it just passed its exam by a few marks.
The ending – a stretch maybe
Now, this ones personal (yeah yeah, so were the others) but I wasn’t too pleased with the last chapter of the book, which I felt was going a bit too far. But this one is for you to decide.
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BOTTOMLINE
It is only the unique story, the relevant content and the low price (Rs. 95) that drives an otherwise mediocre book to a place that can be viewed as ‘good enough’. In its own category, it exceeds expectations. Its not a big league success, it’s a little league victory.
Give it a shot if you are in the18-30 age group. Borrow it from your friend and read it if you are a book buff. Buy it if you are a call center employee. Read it because it’s a well packaged story with a message that tells you to be self-confident, to step over and learn from failure. Because every character is very real and believable, with genuine emotions that we can understand and associate with.
It’s temporary fluff that is good enough for afternoon tea but not enough for primetime dinner.
Take it like candy-floss, it fills you with temporary satisfaction, then melts away.
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