Thursday, June 27, 2013

Book Review: Complete / Convenient

First things first. Ketan Bhagat is actually Chetan Bhagat's brother! Secondly, their writing is as same Chalk and Cheese. So this is not a "same type of book" from people with the same surname. I am not so sure I understood why the book is titled "Complete / Convenient". it could be a rhetoric question asking the readers if they prefer a complete life (in home country with extended family, true friends and a stable job) or a convenient life (including living in different parts of the world and experiencing different / difficult situations). The tag-line "there is more to men than bromance" points in that direction too. The book cover is divided into two parts - one Indian and the other Australian.


Target Audience:
1. Information Technology folks - for you will know what it means to stay at onsite.
2. Punjabis - If you are a Punjabi, you'll love it for sure. This book is all about them and their lifestyles written in a humorous way. 

Plot: The reader is introduced to Kabir, the central character in the plot. He is in love with Myra and hangs out with Ramesh and Tejas. He works in Satyamev, an IT company headed by a certain Raju (co-relations anyone?). Kabir is one the outstanding performers in the sales team. He is immediately called to Australia for deputation. Ecstatic as he is, he unknowingly / indirectly informs Myra about being together. Myra understands this as a marriage offer. And there you go! Before Kabir leaves for Australia, he marries Myra and takes her along with him. That's when the novel really starts. From searching for apartments, friends, places to hang out, friends / colleagues to hang out with, new account for Kabir, everything starts with a mess. But everything finds a way too. Kabir and Myra realize that love before marriage was a lot easier, living in India with family was much better and so on. The internal fight between career growth and family forms the rest of the story.

Writing: Author has adopted a simple way of narrating the story. The writing is simple too. There are regular comparisons between living in India and overseas, their pluses and minuses. So, people who want to relocate can easily finalize their decision after reading this book! Even the people planning to relocate overseas can go through the different arguments you will eventually face. After reading the entire book, I thought the story could have been accommodated in about 275-300 pages. The author has explained every situation / surrounding in so much depth that the reader might feel off-track in between. That's the only minus point of the book. And yes, Ketan has a different writing style with less masala than Chetan.

Overall, the Bhagat family lived up to their reputation of publishing a gem of a debut novel. This one is as good as Five Point Someone. Now the challenge is to upheld the same quality in Ketan's next novels, if he is planning to.

My Rating: 4/5

17 comments:

  1. Is it that good? Thanks for the review, I will give it a try.

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    1. Ohh yes, its good. You will enjoy it more if you are an IT professional..

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  2. Wow, I was looking forward to getting a review on this book - guess the Bhagats have writing in their genes, eh?

    Strangely, it does not have the well oiled marketing muscle of the other Bhaghat. winder why?

    Nice review macha :)

    P.S - Korey naal aayi, ille? :) Ellam sugham thanee ennu viswasikkunnu :)

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    1. Hey Raj. I feel the Bhagat's are differentiating their work and its evident. While Chetan is more into marketing, Ketan is more about quality work. But, this is just his first book. So, we can't predict anything at this point. Lets wait and watch..

      By the way, looong time da! Things fine here.. Hows u? :)

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  3. I completely agree... written for Punjabi clan..
    I am through with 90 pages and I believe some of the parts could have been shorter.. A long book I would say but I am loving the flow and flavor of it..

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    1. Cool Manjulika! The plot gets interesting as you approach the 2nd half of the book..

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  4. 4/5 is a very good rating. Is this novel also as simple (read unimaginative) as Chetan Bhagat's?

    Is this a breezy read or a powerful one?

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    1. Vishal, I feel its not entirely breezy and not entirely powerful either. Maybe that makes the book worth reading..

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  5. Wow. Just in time ! I am reading this to get more ideas :D

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    1. Hehe.. Anita, you might just be forced to return back to India :P

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  6. Well Satyamev and Raju is related to Satyam and Ramalinga Raju for sure...:) Nice review Binu, I guess the Bhagats are doing a great with some good writing skills...:) Would surely love to check out this book...:)

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    1. Hehe.. I am not commenting on any co-incidence Prashanth ;-)

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  7. Agree with an earlier comment.. not as much publicity as expected, considering he's India's most popular authors bro.. still , good to see a well-done debut I guess. Hopefully, he can carry on in coming days.

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    1. Yes doctor. I think, for the Bhagat's, its about maintaining the success more than achieving it..

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  8. Ohh yes. It's slightly long but am sure you wont regret it..

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All yours..

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