After a long long time, I’ve read a book end-to-end without putting it down. Partly because of the good pace and partly because I had a relatively free evening at my disposal.
Set is Ahmedabad, the story revolves around the crises faced in 2 consecutive years - the earthquake and the riots. It’s the ideal Bollywood script - poverty, persistence, cleverness, tragedy, friendship, passion, romance, violence, family - everything has a place in it(may be that’s why so many Bollywood biggies make it into Chetan’s acknowledgements)
The three mistakes - well, I don’t know whether all of them are actually mistakes. When you have limited resources and are 21 years old, risking a regular return business for a faster growth opportunity doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. Especially when you are enterprising and have planned for everything other than an earthquake. The second mistake is more about not taking your friend into confidence. I don’t think the protagonist could’ve turned away and avoided the "mistake". The third mistake - well, all’s well that ends well.
There are a few things that didn’t impress me much. First, the impression given is that this is a true story narrated by the protagonist to Chetan. Then, why isn’t the book dedicated to him? Secondly, Chetan fumbles in handling subtlety when coming to physical intimacy in a romantic relationship. It’s like he doesn’t know how far he should describe things and draws the line awkwardly in between. I’ve seen the same issue with Five Point Someone.
All in all, a good book if you like Bollywood movies. If you are looking for some good literature, give this a miss.