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FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 2008 4:05 AM IST
  • Posted: Tue, May 13 2008. 7:10 AM IST

Book review | The 3 mistakes of my life

The context, sensibility and characters of Bhagat’s books are unabashedly Indian, making them truly representative of our present times

Taneesha Kulshrestha

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The 3 mistakes of my life
By Chetan Bhagat
Price: Rs95; Pages: 258
Rupa Books
What strikes you first about Chetan Bhagat’s novels is the fact that this author 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 new and the third Bhagat book, “The 3 mistakes of my life”, has all these qualities.
The setting is the city of Ahmedabad that though being urban is yet not as metropolitan as many of its metro counterparts. It retains its small town flavour in pols (colonies), traditional Indian households and small vegetarian eateries. It has the protagonist Govind with his passion and acumen for accounts and business, it has Ishan for whom cricket is the element around which his life revolves and it has Omi, a priest’s son and loyal friend who is ready for anything that his friends are game for.
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.
What follows is a mix of cricket, religion, business, love and friendship. Govind sets up a sports shop along with his friends in the temple compound with Omi’s family’s help. 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.
Enter Omi’s Bitoo mama (maternal uncle), a communal party man bent on converting the young into fighters in the name of Hinduism. Situations come to a head and Ahmedabad burns in riot fires. Omi dies saving Ali and Ishan finds out about Vidya and Govind, a betrayal he does not forgive. These events lead Govind to his death-bed and that is when he writes the email to Bhagat.
Perhaps, this is the biggest compliment an author can receive. Its not when New York Times describes him as the biggest selling English language author in the country or when he crosses the coveted two million book sales’ figure, but when someone chooses to remember him in his last minutes, that makes a writer go beyond the ordinary. After all, isn’t the purpose of all writing is to touch someone’s heart?
“The 3 mistakes of my life” is written simply and has the quality that makes one want to read the book cover to cover in one sitting. The pricing of the book is just right for the target audience - young people. This book like Bhagat’s earlier one, “One night @ call centre, too has the masala, emotion and pace to turn into a potential blockbuster.
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Ankush Said:


Nice book with some different story all together and writer(Chetan) repeated his same trend as he used in other two books i.e a guy n gal making love n started and ended with the same type of note as in his other two books. But, I like it :)..

Posted On 5/14/2008 4:12:44 PM
jayesh Said:


Well Chetan Bhagat has come out again with a very typical Indian style of book...i am sure all the people from those small towns will love reading this.. The book is in a typical bhagat style..not as thrilling as five point someone..but then there is something in his style of writing that is compelling. i could not leave it till i finished reading it.

Posted On 5/14/2008 11:57:08 PM
Rupa Said:


We've all really liked the review and the little clip is just the right thing. You have a great website going there I must say.

Posted On 5/15/2008 4:40:34 PM
manisha Said:


I read the book in one go. Good story. simple and logical situations . closer to life in general.characters believable. I personally admire Mr. Bhagat's writings a lot. But I found the story predictable.But it does have all the possible ingredients of a best seller. All the best to Mr. Bhagat.

Posted On 5/16/2008 1:26:43 PM
rupesh300 Said:


Hi there, I dont know you but I needed your help for something I have a blog of mine in which I had written a review of "the three mistakes of my life" some guy from "http://nprp-bookworm.blogspot.com/" has simply copied and pasted my blog post and he has done the same thing with ur blog post "http://www.livemint.com/2008/05/13180932/Book-review--The-3-mistakes-o.html" nad have pasted it in his/her blog so do you know what we can do about it? it will be great if you reply.

Posted On 5/16/2008 3:52:58 PM
poorvi Said:


the book is just ok...not as good as 5 point someone or one night @call centre...there is a lot boring stuff as you go through the book but overall the story is nice ...its worth reading!

Posted On 5/17/2008 2:32:05 PM
Bindu Said:


Check out the old Raj Kapoor Movie-Teesri Kasam, and you will find similarities in the thought process. Kapoor 1st kasam is work related (1st mistake here is bad decison at work), second kasam is woman related (here too the second mistake is that).. third is ethics based related decison like here...

Posted On 5/18/2008 11:14:15 PM
Alka Said:


Nice book, but not as exciting and thrilling as 5 Points Someone. It is a book you can easily relate to, so worth reading. I can say it is Bhagat's style of writing which gives u that sense of belonging. Well worth reading :-))

Posted On 5/19/2008 1:04:13 PM
ankita Said:


Really nice book!! Infact, a must read, i would say!! I read the book from cover to cover in 5 hours straight.. simple and approachable characters to whom one can relate to in daily life!! and the portrayal of Gujarat earthquake and Godhra riots have been depicted very precisely...so, its a very realistic and nice book, but nothing can compare the fun and humour of FIVE POINT SOMEONE!!

Posted On 5/19/2008 2:07:48 PM
subin Said:


interesting but not as much as five point someone. But chetan has added flavours like friendship, unacceptable love ,conservative parents etc to make his young fans happy.

Posted On 5/19/2008 4:55:10 PM
Ankit Said:


The book is not an excellent literary work, but still is an interesting read. Read it in one go in 3 hours flat. Chetan Bhagat has something in his writing style which makes you to want him read again and again, may be every1 of us identifies with his characters at some point in the book. But the sad thing is that he gets very unrealistic at times. I mean who would go to Australia for coaching a kid and the parents so blindly believe the tutor that they never check on him..Anyways, apart from a few bollywoodish stuff, it keeps u entwined till the end.

Posted On 5/19/2008 8:19:51 PM
karthik Said:


Could not ask for more. I know people tend compare his previous work with the current one. But its just inevitable. I truly believe this one is as good as his previous novel. Simply marvellous with same sensitivity and joy. This one should also be made into a movie as his previous one. And trust me it would be great.

Posted On 5/20/2008 4:22:32 PM
karthik Said:


Could not ask for more. I know people tend compare his previous work with the current one. But its just inevitable. I Truly belive this one is as good as the previous novel of his. Simply marvellous novel with same sensitivity and joy. This one should also be made in a movie as his previous one. And trust me it would be great.

Posted On 5/20/2008 4:23:26 PM
Rohit Said:


The book lacks the refreshing feel of Five point someone.. Bhaghat is tending to stick to a formula- a weak protagonist, his sex life etc.. He needs to get out of this mould.. The book starts well but has too many things cramped into it and ends an absolute cropper. The dramatic end (fight scenes) are redolent of any 'tragic' bollywood movie. Rgds Rohit http://blog.rohitnair.com

Posted On 5/22/2008 12:12:54 AM
Saurya Said:


another bhagat masterpiece....simply has a great story....good characters and depiects our Indian modern times in the best way....cudoes to him....waiting for his next book.....

Posted On 5/22/2008 9:23:10 PM
arnab Said:


I think TTMOML makes a good read if u read it at one go..(u should!!) Though I think it's extremely difficult to match up to the greatness of 5PS..Chetan has done enough to mesmerize his audience once again.. Its definitely better than ON@CC which I found a bit boring and unrealistic.... The greatness of the book lies in the handling of real events n merging them together with fiction..Thumbs up for this one..BRAVO!!Keep up the ood work man..

Posted On 5/23/2008 7:38:05 PM
Pranav Said:


the book is great and keeps a S M I L E . on ur face throughout............ chetan bhagat has come back to form after his not so intresgtn call centre book... i think v all can relate the book to us actually its lik a mix up of what v feel everyday.........MUST READ

Posted On 5/24/2008 12:05:55 AM
ishaan Said:


the plot of the novel is quite nice,which sensibly touches the elements of politics(run on the name of religion),cricket & business.the characters have been brought out quite well.ending,though a bit hard to digest, is unconventional.overall, definitly worth d hype

Posted On 6/3/2008 12:30:05 AM
pratik Said:


Again a good piece of reading and Chetan Bhagat is again rocking with the sense of humour between a boy-girl relationship..describing girls' mentality is the best part again..worth reading one time...

Posted On 6/3/2008 3:38:30 PM
Sri Said:


This book seemed quite similar to 5 point someone...3 friends about their friendship, protagonist falling in love making out with her(Hari in 5PS),one of the character is a dud(Alok in 5PS) and the other is a smartass who doesn't give a damn abt the others(Ryan in 5PS). But the similarity ends there.The background setting and the storyline is completely different and this one is definitely worth a read. As usual his writing style is good enough and you will be compelled to finish it in one go.

Posted On 6/4/2008 2:05:26 PM
kailash Said:


Hi, Its worth reading for one time.But u can't compare it with chetan's previous assignments(5pts someone)....Its unrealistic in those parts when they decided to train the guy in Australia..Some parts are bit unrealistic and involved lot of politics stuff at the end ... But anyways .. as we know chetan always shines with bright colours.. I am surely looking forward for his next release..and am damned sure that this will be completely different from all his previous books.. Good work done dude!!

Posted On 6/9/2008 12:44:40 PM
durgesh Said:


hi chetan!!!!! ur new release is absolutely fantastic.Although i hate reading novels but when it comes to u i never compromise.ur new release sometime became dramatic but overall its good to read..... eagerly wating for ur new release.

Posted On 6/9/2008 11:22:23 PM
diya Said:


hi chetan i read ur all three books.All the books have the same fun.Althought i hate reading novels but when it comes to u i never compromise.i bought ur new realease "three mistakes of my life" and it is great

Posted On 6/9/2008 11:31:09 PM
Alpita Said:


i'm gonna read it today.....

Posted On 6/15/2008 5:51:12 PM
Koneti Said:


This is how a light read should be. Interesting, makes you read from page to page, (of course I finished in three different sessions) and does not leave any baggage on your back. May be this is the reason you go back to the book shelf to read it again after 5-6 monnths to recollect the memories. Good work.

Posted On 6/17/2008 2:13:57 PM