One Night at a Call Centre (Book Review)

Chetan Bhagat, One Night at a Call Centre, Rupa Publications, 2005, ISBN 978-81-291-0818-0, pp. 57, Rs. 95.  
This was Chetan Bhagat’s second novel and I must confess – it was a let down. ‘Five Point Someone’, despite being half as good as the movie it inspired (3 Idiots), has a way better story than this. Chetan’s style in this book is drab and unbecoming of a writer of his caliber. Perhaps he has improved over time, for his later novels are far better than his initial ones.
The book’s beginning and end had his personal charismatic touch but the large number of pages in between reek of aridity. The story is told in first person and is a narration of incidents that occurred on a single night at the call centre, Connexions, with few flashbacks that serve little purpose besides distracting you from the story and providing some ‘masala’ for those looking for it. The end is extremely predictable and hence detracts from the novels’ glory.

I didn’t enjoy the reading experience and the expletives didn’t help. However, a reality about youth in such conditions was brought to light and my favourite part of the book is the conversation with God. The message comes across strongly: God plays an important role in life. Our acknowledgment of that fact is secondary. However, we stand to benefit by acknowledging Him and listening to His voice within us, i.e. our conscience. 

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