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whatsshwereading's Reviews (740)
I swore off Chetan Bhagat after I'd finished Revolution-2020. By then I'd grown as a reader and couldn't handle the trash Bhagat dished out in the name of "youthful-hinglish novels"
I was one of the first people to scoff and troll the author when his twitter feed announced his next *cringe* book. Definitely wasn't going to waste time, money, and effort on this book.
And then I read an amazingly vitriolic review of the book by a hilarious Abhishek Sikhwal on the Daily O (you can read it here - http://www.dailyo.in/humour/chetan-bhagat-an-indian-girl-review-iim-graduate-goldman-sachs-product-placement/story/1/13244.html) I knew the book would be bad. But how bad could it be really? I already know Chetan Bhagat's prose resembles the "cow essay" format. He writes only about idiot people living in a make-believe world hoping his books will be made into dumb movies (and they have) So, really, what angered Sikhwal to this extent?
Apparently quite a lot.
Let's start with Radhika Mehta, the protagonist, a high-flying VP at Goldman-Sachs. Ms.Mehta is a self-entitled, self-pitying, snobbish brat who's always hankering for attention. In a nutshell, she's the female version of Chetan Bhagat. We never get a sense of her being independent - no matter what she does, she wants "love". Its not enough that she has Parents and friends (mostly non-existent) who love her. No, she needs a man to "complete" her. I am not saying that successful women do not need love or men, its just they don't need those things validate their existence.
Bhagat in trying to give us a “modern”, “career-oriented”, and “successful” Indian woman, ends up giving us a Bollywood cliché. Therefore, she “waxes”, and starts wearing western outfits. Hmm, don’t think Bhagat has heard or seen the likes of Chanda Kochhar.
Ms. Mehta, according to the men around her, is "smart", "funny", and "attractive". We see no evidence of this. She's whiny, demanding attention and when she's not doing that she's giving dumbfuck solutions to dumbfuck problems at Goldman Sachs. Way to use your experience in the book Bhagat. Now, this, this is the same woman who turns into a blubbering mess when her first BF dumps her. So much so, at one point she's stalking him desperately! He broke up with you over a text message woman!! Have some self-respect! Grow a spine!
The book goes steadily downhill from here. Because Ms.Mehta is a "valuable asset" (whatever) to the company, they transfer her everytime she threatens to resign (because she messed up on the relationship front. Boo-hoo) Let me once again remind you. She works for Goldman-frigging-Sachs. And then it drags on to end in a shaadi-waala bollywood types shenanigans which ends oh so predictably.
I don’t even want to talk about the men in the book. They’re such caricatures that to call them a stereotype would be an understatement to stereotype.
Everyone's been asking me why I read the book if I hated the author so much. Here's the thing. I don't care that the book is ridiculously dumb with prose that can be edited by a 6th grader. What bothered and scared me is the stance the book and its author have claimed to take. Its supposed to be about "feminism".
At one point, Brijesh Gulati, Ms. Mehta's fiance tells her that there is no such thing as "feminist" and we all should be "humanists". What the hell? In the same chapter, he tells her to not use "hi-fi words like feminism". Asshole.
I wonder if Bhagat knows about the recent movement in Saudi where women are fighting to stop being treated as men's possessions. Or real issues working women face such as unequal pay, sexism, harassment, and eve-teasing at workplace? Ms. Mehta has no such issues. She's transferred to fancy offices at her whim and given jaw-dropping bonuses. I also wonder who these vapid creatures are that he spoke to when "researching" for this dimwit excuse of a book.
As a woman and a feminist, this book greatly disturbed me. Does Bhagat realise that he actually influences an entire generation of young (and stupid) people? That as an author who made Indian writing appealing to a large mass, he now has to be socially responsible? I wouldn't have had an issue with this book had it not boasted a feminist protagonist. Imagine a 16-yr old boy/girl reading this book and learning that feminism is a "hi-fi" word.
Dear Mr. Bhagat, if you are reading this, please note, be careful what you dish out. These are hard times. We already have movies glorifying stalking, eve-teasing, and objectifying women. We do not need an author to mercilessly kill feminism all because of his warped understanding of the concept. Bring back that Bhagat who so skillfully inter-weaved some very serious social messages in Five-Point Someone or Three Mistakes of My Life with simple prose.
Everyone who is reading this, please read the book. Read the book and let the world know how wrong Bhagat is. Heck, let him know he shouldn't get away with writing rubbish.
I don't know what young India needs. But I know it definitely doesn't need a self-important Chetan Bhagat talking about a concept he barely understands.
This is one (angry) Indian girl, signing off.
PS: If you want to read this book, please get in touch with me. More than happy to lend my copy which I borrowed from a friend. Let Bhagat not make any more money off this book.
I was one of the first people to scoff and troll the author when his twitter feed announced his next *cringe* book. Definitely wasn't going to waste time, money, and effort on this book.
And then I read an amazingly vitriolic review of the book by a hilarious Abhishek Sikhwal on the Daily O (you can read it here - http://www.dailyo.in/humour/chetan-bhagat-an-indian-girl-review-iim-graduate-goldman-sachs-product-placement/story/1/13244.html) I knew the book would be bad. But how bad could it be really? I already know Chetan Bhagat's prose resembles the "cow essay" format. He writes only about idiot people living in a make-believe world hoping his books will be made into dumb movies (and they have) So, really, what angered Sikhwal to this extent?
Apparently quite a lot.
Let's start with Radhika Mehta, the protagonist, a high-flying VP at Goldman-Sachs. Ms.Mehta is a self-entitled, self-pitying, snobbish brat who's always hankering for attention. In a nutshell, she's the female version of Chetan Bhagat. We never get a sense of her being independent - no matter what she does, she wants "love". Its not enough that she has Parents and friends (mostly non-existent) who love her. No, she needs a man to "complete" her. I am not saying that successful women do not need love or men, its just they don't need those things validate their existence.
Bhagat in trying to give us a “modern”, “career-oriented”, and “successful” Indian woman, ends up giving us a Bollywood cliché. Therefore, she “waxes”, and starts wearing western outfits. Hmm, don’t think Bhagat has heard or seen the likes of Chanda Kochhar.
Ms. Mehta, according to the men around her, is "smart", "funny", and "attractive". We see no evidence of this. She's whiny, demanding attention and when she's not doing that she's giving dumbfuck solutions to dumbfuck problems at Goldman Sachs. Way to use your experience in the book Bhagat. Now, this, this is the same woman who turns into a blubbering mess when her first BF dumps her. So much so, at one point she's stalking him desperately! He broke up with you over a text message woman!! Have some self-respect! Grow a spine!
The book goes steadily downhill from here. Because Ms.Mehta is a "valuable asset" (whatever) to the company, they transfer her everytime she threatens to resign (because she messed up on the relationship front. Boo-hoo) Let me once again remind you. She works for Goldman-frigging-Sachs. And then it drags on to end in a shaadi-waala bollywood types shenanigans which ends oh so predictably.
I don’t even want to talk about the men in the book. They’re such caricatures that to call them a stereotype would be an understatement to stereotype.
Everyone's been asking me why I read the book if I hated the author so much. Here's the thing. I don't care that the book is ridiculously dumb with prose that can be edited by a 6th grader. What bothered and scared me is the stance the book and its author have claimed to take. Its supposed to be about "feminism".
At one point, Brijesh Gulati, Ms. Mehta's fiance tells her that there is no such thing as "feminist" and we all should be "humanists". What the hell? In the same chapter, he tells her to not use "hi-fi words like feminism". Asshole.
I wonder if Bhagat knows about the recent movement in Saudi where women are fighting to stop being treated as men's possessions. Or real issues working women face such as unequal pay, sexism, harassment, and eve-teasing at workplace? Ms. Mehta has no such issues. She's transferred to fancy offices at her whim and given jaw-dropping bonuses. I also wonder who these vapid creatures are that he spoke to when "researching" for this dimwit excuse of a book.
As a woman and a feminist, this book greatly disturbed me. Does Bhagat realise that he actually influences an entire generation of young (and stupid) people? That as an author who made Indian writing appealing to a large mass, he now has to be socially responsible? I wouldn't have had an issue with this book had it not boasted a feminist protagonist. Imagine a 16-yr old boy/girl reading this book and learning that feminism is a "hi-fi" word.
Dear Mr. Bhagat, if you are reading this, please note, be careful what you dish out. These are hard times. We already have movies glorifying stalking, eve-teasing, and objectifying women. We do not need an author to mercilessly kill feminism all because of his warped understanding of the concept. Bring back that Bhagat who so skillfully inter-weaved some very serious social messages in Five-Point Someone or Three Mistakes of My Life with simple prose.
Everyone who is reading this, please read the book. Read the book and let the world know how wrong Bhagat is. Heck, let him know he shouldn't get away with writing rubbish.
I don't know what young India needs. But I know it definitely doesn't need a self-important Chetan Bhagat talking about a concept he barely understands.
This is one (angry) Indian girl, signing off.
PS: If you want to read this book, please get in touch with me. More than happy to lend my copy which I borrowed from a friend. Let Bhagat not make any more money off this book.
This book makes you face some uncomfortable truths, my favourite being -"The world stops for you when you're pretty. That's why women spend billions on crap for their faces. Their whole life, they're the centre of attention. People want to be around them just because they're attractive. Their jokes are funnier. Their lives are better."
But for all its brutal honesty and graphic violence, the book is fairly ridiculous. It didn't shock me like Gone Girl did, neither did acts of heinous sexual crimes, gory & disgusting as they were, repulse me. Would've been a much better read had it been crisper and a tab bit more credible.
But for all its brutal honesty and graphic violence, the book is fairly ridiculous. It didn't shock me like Gone Girl did, neither did acts of heinous sexual crimes, gory & disgusting as they were, repulse me. Would've been a much better read had it been crisper and a tab bit more credible.
