One night at the call center

Read this book recently. It feels like the author (Chetan Bhagat) is a big fan of Bollywood movies and / or was writing his book for Bollywood audience. Having read his previous work, 5 point someone, I can comfortably say now that he has no training in writing (which is not a bad thing). But writing a book as a Bollywood script cannot be classified as a great work. The book is about 6 characters, talking to each other through-out the book. He hardly explains the premise, ambiance or any other details that might help characterizing the protagonists.

I liked his overall story plot that carries an underlying message. However his writing, the execution of his story, lacks novelty. The book has an usual standard climax in last 30 pages, similar to his previous book, and ends up in 'happily-ever-after' fashion.

He could have definitely told his story without the ingredients: self-praise and US bashing. Self-praise is something that he has consistently shown and spoken about to the media (But that is the problem for him and his PR). US bashing is pretty baseless in the book. I believe author should seriously consider studying the IQ of an average person of any other country. To be fair, people who call 'call centers' are the ones who haven't figured out the solutions to their problems but they have shown the traits of curiosity and willingness to learn by asking somebody else. Well I could go on and on with the examples, but that is not the point, the point is that Chetan could have avoided US bashing.

The characters in the book are convincing but the plot isn't (mainly GOD calling the call center employees). The story plot is short, precise and an enhanced version of a movie script. If that was Chetan's intention then kudos to him as both of his books have been materialized into Bollywood movies. But if he is seriously considering to be a globally accepted writer then he needs to listen to his critics more carefully (who will tell you the same story as this blogger).

Rating: 2.5 / 5.0

Entrepreneurship and YOU

While reading one of the articles on TechCrunch I came across the analogy that Yossi Vardi made in regard to the current entrepreneurship. He quoted Theodore Roosevelt from a 1910 speech 'The Man in the Arena':

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.".

Something worth pondering about....