Just finished reading Five Point Someone. (Don't Scream! atleast now that I have read it). There are many criticisms of the book available. I agree that if the book does not depict the life of a five-pointer accurately, it does injustice to the subject; also that the story is filmy.
But I would like to take the content with a sense of humour - just like one does while watching Govinda Movies and Munnabhai MBBS. So, here's my take on FPS ....
- What makes FPS interesting is the writing style ... its a very honest style of writing ..... Chetan writes as if the character is himself plotting his thoughts on paper .... without using special words and of course without civility ... An Example (my favourite!) - ".. then she placed her foot on the accelearator. Now may be it is because I am an engineer, but that was hot!".
- FPS is interesting because it describes events as if they unfolded in reality ... not the Ayn Randish style where the deeper meaning behind every event is analysed .. just the event .. no layers of interpretation. Ayn Randhish style of writing might make a book profound - but it takes away the fun ... but you read FPS just for the fun .. just for the moment ... with no goal in mind ..no intentions ...
- Another reason why many people might have found it great is because it shows the darker side of the halowed institutions from the point of view of losers and underdogs. It has a rebellious leader of underdogs (Ryan) who himself is the most backward underdog according to the system but for the underdogs he is the hero. In other words it rebels !!! It touches those who wanted to rebel and did or probably didn't . It speaks for those who do not think that GPAs are the crux of life@IIT and the more enjoyable and memorable are other events - like trips to the insti roof!
- Then, the book is funny ... and the funiness cannot be ascribed to either language or events or style alone ... it is a mixture of everything that the book represents ... Most of the times (unless during slightly senti scenes) I was smiling while reading the book ...
I noticed people around me looking at me bewildered at my misterious smile - in the local, in the taxi, and at home ... I felt awkward then - but couldn't control my smile ... thats in the bookwhat describes the power of the book ... IT IS FUNNY !!! And all ingredients make it funny together ... - Finally, probably the most important reason for the popularity of the book is that FPS had a brand behind it to leverage - IIT - even Dilbert recognizes this brand. And even Dilbert recognizes IITians as geeks, nerds, morons - without girlfriends :). And thats where FPS comes in - to break the mould. Agreed that it copies 'The Inscrutable Americans'; but it does so with a fresh theme in mind. There is sure a lot of originality in the book - especially the fact that no-one ever wrote a novel on life@IIT !
All in all, if you haven't read it yet, you should. The cost is pretty ok - Rs 95 if you are a Crosswords customer - but if you believe in buying books from roadside vendors - you may not have to shell out more than 50 bucks (probably even less).
So - "Go get it Tiger!" - as Neha would put it ;)
i think the line is:-
ReplyDelete"then she placed her BARE foot on the accelearator. Now may be it is because I am a MECHANICAL engineer, but that was hot!".
Thanks for linking back to me.. That's how I came here to read your take on the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that it is a funny book. My complain with the author was that he should not have advertised it as 'life@iit' - because, take my word for it, nothing could be farther from the truth.
You can spin as beautiful a tale as you want, with lies. And thats what the book does.
It is fiction and that is all there is to it. That is what makes it funny and hilarious and interesting and whatever else we may will :)
Cheers.
My url has changed by the way: the new link to the post is :
http://nadrav.blogspot.com/2005/04/inscrutable-chetanb.html