The Three Mistakes of my Life

"The Three Mistakes of my Life" is the third novel from India's new reading sensation Chetan Bhagat and to me his best effort. Bhagat needs a special mention for making India read like never before.

In his new novel Bhagat follows his usual racy style of story telling. It keeps you engaged and you feel like finishing of the novel in a few sittings.

This time Bhagat has broaden his horizons and tackles socially relevant issues. The plot is based in Gujrat (the state in India which was in the news for all the wrong reasons in 2002) and revolves around the lives of three friends. How they build their own business and how India's national obsession (read cricket) changes them as individuals is the central theme of the novel.

Bhagat is getting better with every novel. "The Three Mistakes..." like his previous novels brings joy to reading. And that is Bhagat's biggest strength!

The White Tiger

The first thing that strikes you about "The White Tiger" by Aravind Adiga is the writing style. It reminded me of Mohsin Hamid's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist." The 'thinking aloud' approach adopted by Adiga is a highly effective tool and gets you involved with the character and the narrative in general.

Balram Halwai, a male servant coming from a poor background, is the protagonist of the book. How the city life corrupts him, like his master, and brings out his evil ambitions is the main theme of the novel. By inventing Balram Halwai, Adiga has managed to bring the dark side of India to the fore.

It's a well told story which manages to create the maximum impact with minimum characters! And with the Booker coming in, the maximum gain as well.

Mayada - Daughter of Iraq

"Mayada - Daughter of Iraq" is a bestseller by Jean Sasson. The popularity of the book is more to do with the controversial subject than the quality of work. The book tells the story of a woman named Mayada Al Askari, coming from an influential Iraqi family, who under strange circumstances finds herself in Baladiyat Prison (Iraq's most feared prison during the regime of Saddam Hussein).

The book gives a painful account of how Mayada copes with the life in prison with other women. Her interactions with other cell inmates highlights the terrible state of affairs when Saddam was at the helm. References to Mayada's illustrious family were frequently made in the book, maybe to contrast with her treatment at the prison.

My only problem is with Mayada's own story. Why did she accept gifts from Saddam Hussein in the form of money if she was so upright? And if she feared for her life in refusing him she could have well left the country. She wrote under his patronage and had no problems with it as long as it was good for her. Truth dawned on her in the darkness of the prison. Possible but highly questionable!

If I've to sum up the novel I would say it's a depressing novel which could very well be used as a propaganda material.