The 3 mistakes of my life by Chetan Bhagat
Our readers will be wondering what a book review is doing on a website devoted to cricket. Read on to know why.
“The 3 mistakes of my life” is the latest book to be released by Chetan Bhagat- the author of two blockbuster novels ( Five Point Someone and One night at the call centre). Chetan who is an IIT/ IIM-A product writes about Indians and for Indians. His characters are young, ambitious and passionate and have the same moral, social and religious dilemmas as many of the young Indians today. At the same time their context and sensibility too is unabashedly Indian.
The book is based on real life events. It begins in a dramatic enough fashion with Bhagat receiving an e-mail from Govind who had taken many sleeping pills and was writing to him while waiting for the deadly sleep’s embrace. Chetan was shaken enough by the incident to track the boy down to an Ahmedabad hospital. Fortunately he was still alive to tell the tale. The book is loosely based on the three mistakes Govind made in his life.
In late 2000, Govind, a young boy in Ahmedabad dreamt of owning a business. To accomodate his friends Ish and Omi’s passion, they think of opening a cricket shop. However, nothing comes easy in a turbulent city. Govind sets up a sports shop along with his friends in the temple compound with Omi’s family’s help. What follows is a mix of cricket, religion, business, love and friendship. The shop prospers as Ishan coaches young boys in cricket and Govind teaches maths to Ishan’s sister Vidya who also captures his heart. Ishan then meets Ali, a child master with a hyper reflex condition that makes him hit each ball for a six. Ali displays the talent which Ishan never had and Ali’s destiny becomes his own. Readers can lay their hands on the book to find out what happens next.
“The 3 mistakes of my life” is written in simple language and has the quality that makes one want to read the book cover to cover in one sitting. The author has come out with yet another dark, witty tale about modern India and brings out the ethos and isolation of an entire generation to the fore. The pricing of the book (Rs 95) is just right for the target audience - young people.
Leave a Reply