The book opens with an interesting dialogue by Chetan, the author, "I don't want to be India's most admired writer, I just want to be India's most loved writer. Admiration passes, love endures". And this line of his strikes a chord right away. And interestingly all his novels have done just that. He has become the darling of Indian masses. His simple, lucid language has got the entire nation reading; forget about grammar and punctuation folks, it's the concept that gets you hooked big-time, specifically when it comes to 'The 3 mistakes of my life'.
Yes, the concept used is unabashedly Indian. It talks about young, ambitious and passionate Indians. The backdrop is the city of Ahmedabad (where Chetan took his MBA degree) though urban is no where close to its metro counterparts. The city still retains its small town flavour, which one can find in pols, conventional households and eateries. The story revolves around Govind, Ishaan and Omi. Govind is best known for his acumen for accounts and business. Ishan is insane about cricket while Omi believes in what his friends believe in. He has no opinion of his own. And if at all he has one, he expresses it, but finally gives in to his friends liking.
The story opens on a dramatic note. The author receives an email from Govind saying that he had taken sleeping pills and is waiting for death to embrace him. Chetan was so hit by the mail that he makes it a mission to track down the boy and finally finds him in an Ahmedabad hospital. Fortunately, the boy is still alive to tell the tale. The book revolves around the three mistakes Govind made in his life.
His first when he takes a loan from Omi's uncle to sets up a sports shop and is unable to pay back, as earthquake strikes Gujarat, and ends up losing everything in the process. His second mistake, when he makes love with Ishaan's sis Vidya. The third, when he fails to save Ali's wrist from an attack from Hindu hardliners. Ali had to go through a painful and expensive surgery to get his wrist back in shape and play cricket as usual.
A mix of cricket, religion, business, love and friendship, the story is spell-binding. The melodrama involved gives you goose bumps. However, one cannot stop noticing the regular use of f*** in almost all the pages. Overall, an interesting read. Just hope, he churns out more of such stuff, for his books touches the heart effortlessly.
Nice review. I thought this book was a brave attempt on his part as it was very different from his earlier books. My only criticism of the book is that the plot was a little too thin..
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