Whenever any millennial hears of “Chetan Bhagat” they have a cocktail of emotions.
First, they remember he was the first author they ever read as a kid (myself included). So he sort of drove the entire millennial generation to their debut book outside of course books.
At the same time, we do not have very good relationship with the spice he brought in his books.
Which is why, I personally never read anything by Chetan Bhagat after 3 Mistakes or probably 2 States. I did read his latest non-fiction book from perhaps 2 years ago, but we are primarily talking about his fictional work.
Which is why, when his latest book “12 years” started making a lot of noise, I decided to read a sample on Amazon. Then bought the book on Kindle.
Here is my honest review (might or might not include spoilers):
What I loved:
- Chetan Bhagat’s writing style. So many Indian authors lack depth and a mature understanding of the character about why they are the way they are. Not Chetan. Throughout the book you get an understanding of characters in the plot, which only an emotionally mature, empathetic author could do.
- There are not too many male romance authors, either in India or America. Thus, Chetan Bhagat staying relevant in this genre for more than two decades is something extraordinary. And he did a good job at it.
- The jokes landed quite well (the male main character is a comic).
- Too little spice. The former fiction books by the author have a spice that does not sit well in memories of a lot of us. This book has negligible spice which is indeed good, and does more work in exploring the relationship of the main characters.
- Well researched characters. The characters are true to the work they do, and the author deserves full marks for that.
- I also loved the fact that the story did not immediately give a happily ever after. The characters took their sweet years to understand that their feelings for each other were real and not merely filling a void of their own personality.
- The realities of Indian families. I wouldn’t necessarily say I “loved” it, but it was a true aspect of Indian society reflected through the pages of the book. The parental side of things is something that reminded me of “2 states” by Bhagat, again. I believe because he has gone through it and of course lives in a world that reflects all of this, he captured it so close to reality.
- There are few things that come to you only with time, such as writing a relatable book like this. Because Chetan Bhagat is an observer of life and been a writer for decades, he has earned this. As a writer, if you want to become an accomplished one, be it in any direction or genre, you must start practising yesterday.
What I wish was different:
- Sometimes the purpose of fiction (especially romantic fiction with a happy ending) is to show us a picture that is different. As in what if parents were more supportive? But practically it won’t be so much relatable to his audience though, which are young people. To young people, parents that practice the Subtle art of not giving anything are more relatable, because that is real. And parents with children of marriageable age are certainly not going to read a book called “12 years”.
- If their love was real, which it was, I wish they stayed true to each other even after being forced to take a different path. I wish there was no SaaS or perhaps attempts to having a baby.
- Why do men lose control so much? He got drunk and went to the girl’s parents’ house to stop her roka. He used a cuss word with his ex wife over a chat and lost a lot of his wealth. He got mad at the girl later and made her feel like she needed him. Again, all true in real life where men are famous for losing their temper (the main character in Prajakta’s book also lost his temper towards the end), but I truly wish at least in this area the books showed a calm man, even when hell was breaking lose. This part would at least inspire other men, an area where every fiction does a great job at impacting its readers. PS: In no way I am saying this would make the girl’s mistakes right, nope, her mistakes still hold true; but men in society in general need to learn to be calmer and have the courage to have a conversation instead of a loud voice or sometimes a strong hand. Something books written by American authors do a spectacular job at. (Ex: Atlas in It ends with us, Ryan in The Enemy by Sarah Adams, Nathan in The Cheat Sheet, Ryan in The Right Move, Isaiah in Play Along or even Noah in When in Rome.)
Now comes the question:
Should you read it?
I don’t think the book did anything bad to me. If only, it made me respect Chetan Bhagat again, which I had quietly lost without even being aware of. It also made me understand why people behave the way they do.
At this point, if I were you, I’d almost be sold by now and read the Kindle sample and decide for myself.