I was deliberateyl putting off reading this book, what with all the hype that was created about this being a book to be read by IITians and non-IITians alike. Somehow anything that has too much hype created automatically becomes a turnoff for me. I would rather discover something than be told about it. But I must admit for a debut book Chetan has done a good job.
As everyone is aware by now, the story is about 3 ’under-achievers’ or to put in perspective, about 3 guys with a 5.xx GPA (50-60% aggregate for those not familiar with the GPA system) and the idiotic things they end up doing and how the manage to salvage their careers in the end. He chooses to narrate the incidents right from the first day of college till the convocation day through the eyes of an average guy, Hari who has been successful in academics through his life but suddenly has to come to terms with being labelled a below average, an under performer and how much someone can be judged based on one’s report card. He has company in the form of Alok and Ryan. Alok is from a typical middle class family whose mother has been slogging all her life to make ends meet which includes taking care of his ailing father. Since the age of 12 he has been taking care of his dad and his objectives of being in IIT are simple, a good job, decent salary, get sister married off, give mom some rest by not making her work anymore, take care of dad’s medical expenses.... Ryan is the dynamic one, always with the ideas (not always a a good one though) and the action-man. Trust Ryan to be the first to get a solution to a tight situation and infact as one will discover through the book, most of the incidents are thanks to Ryan’s ’cool ideas’. As for Hari, for a majority of the first part he himself is not sure what he is doing in IIT, but then his inspiration comes in the form of Neha, the mech. dept. HOD’s daughter. The way they met also is somewhat wierd I thought but what the hell. What is even more real about Hari’s character is that for a majority of the book, I was thinking exactly like him, he completely mirrored my thoughts, like the part when they first meet and she lends him a hand and he not denying it because ’its not everyday that a girl offers her’. The most hilarious and probably darkest part is the ’The longest day of my life’ parts. The part about how they hatch the plan, Hari’s attempt to get the keys and that leading to a very very pleasant surprise is simply not to miss ;).
This should be read no doubt by everyone who has attended school, college whatever but mostly it should be read for the nostalgia that it brings back. Good stuff,