BOOK REVIEW 15: ONE NIGHT AT THE CALL CENTER: CHETAN BHAGAT

 

GENERAL OVERVIEW:

RATINGS:2/5

GENRE: Non fiction, Life style

AUTHOR: CHETAN BHAGAT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Chetan Bhagat was on born 22 April 1974 in Delhi, India. He is an Indian author and columnist. 

Bhagat graduated in mechanical engineering at IIT Delhi and completed an MBA at IIM Ahmedabad. He started his career as an investment banker but left it after a few years to pursue his passion for writing. He has written nine novels and three non-fiction books.

 His first novel was Five Point Someone which was published in 2004. His novels have been listed as bestsellers.

Five of Chetan Bhagat's novels have been adapted into Bollywood films as well. These Bollywood movies have been a blockbuster hit.

Chetan is also a popular motivational speaker and has spoken at more than 300 organizations in 50 cities around the world. He speaks at corporates, educational institutes, government bodies and volunteer agencies. 

His other notable works are:

 Five Point Someone,

 2 States: The Story of My Marriage, 

The 3 Mistakes of My Life, 

Half Girlfriend,

The Girl in Room 105

INTRODUCTION:

One night at the call center is a story of six employees working at a call center. This book is about 6 call centre employees – Shyam , Priyanka , Esha , Vroom , Radhika & “military uncle” .The protagonist or the narrator is Shyam who tells each and every employees from his perspective. He outlines the regular problems and arduous conditions of youths in India. It is a story of lost love, lost ambitions, absence of family affection, pressures of a patriarchal set up,work pressure and lot more. Each of the employee is troubled by a unique problem yet they are struggling to solve it with a smile on their faces.

 One night they get a phone-call from God within the story. A phone call from God is one of the salient features in the novel.

 In order to cheer themselves up they decide to go and enjoy at a night club. After enjoying for a while, they leave for the office. While returning, they face a life-threatening situation when their van crashes into a construction site hanging over a mesh of iron construction rods. As the rods began to bend slowly, they start to panic. There is no mobile phone network at that place but all of a sudden Shyam's mobile phone starts ringing. The phone call is from God, who speaks modern English.

 He speaks to all of them and gives them suggestions to improve their life.The conversation with God motivates the group to such an extent that they get ready to face their problems with utmost determination and motivation. 

ANALYSIS:

The six employees deal with a lot of phone calls from customers regarding the problems with the instruments and equipments. They have to deal with great patience and calm Though on the other side they are themselves facing a great problem. It describes the lives of the six people .

They have plans of starting their own web designing firm , and Shyam get backs his love- Priyanka . Even after the phone call from God there was no any changes or twist or any climax. Its just so so smooth. If in real any one of us received a phone call from God himself ,we would obviously be over excited or the person on the other side of the phone to be a fraud or spam. If we happen to share this experience most of the listeners would regard us to be out of mind. They would not believe us at all let alone I. Its unbelievable. If the author needed to include a non fiction character he could have done it in beginning. He just makes us revolve around just to take us nowhere. It just doesn't fit. As if sugar is inappropriate in vegetables.

The humour is clunky, the plot is way too dramatic and shaky. The story just takes place in more than 24 hours than is plausible. Its just torture. Readers just wish if the book is just over.

It was the night ... it was the night there was a phone call from God.

The lines said to Chetan by a beautiful girl on the train obviously attracts the readers to turn the page. But with each page turned I felt disappointed as there's no mention of God at all till the story reaches the end. That too to make the readers dissatisfied. There's also an awful lot of suspense to leave the reader's in dilemma for a very long time. 

The story is yet worth a read in the beginning but the plot is flat or tasteless towards the end with the introduction of Deus Ex Machina. The including of God is not suitable.

The plotline is not so deeply moving or the characters an extra so it is quite just for the time pass or entertainment. 

CRITICISM:

I didn't understand the book and the plot to be honest. The scenes are so jumbled up and heterogeneous that you get so confused about the characters. Though it represents the youths, I don't think youths are so depressed and demotivated that they need to be phone called by GOD himself.It is a stupid and an offensive idea. Yet it is an act of severe contempt.

I assumed this story to be a non fiction. All the six employees are real. Their problems seem legitimate but how the story ends with a fictional character is ridiculous. Receiving a phone call from God where there is no network tower at all ,just to solve the problems of six young employees, I find this totally boring and unreasonable. 

This story revolves around marriage and relationships of the employees ONLY. It doesn't represent the whole of the nation. Every youth is not only obsessed in a relationship or marriage. The author has left a lot of problems of youths untouched. He has totally ignored the mental health issues or their family relationships. 

I don't understand why do the employees need to go out to a club for a break. And is it allowed to drink and let alone drive in the middle of work??? While on way back to work they decide to take a short course deliberately being involved in lots of unnecessary and unrealistic dramas. I find way lot of useless dramas. 

 

The other thing I disliked about the book is it's predictable. The problems are normal in every day life and the solutions assigned are dumb. Every problem has a solution and those solutions in the story can already be predicted prior to completion of the book by any readers.The characters apparently listen to their inner call and what it tells them is that the way to act is as irresponsibly and unethically as possible.

It sort of feels too complicated and very large. 

MY CLOSING THOUGHTS:

I disliked the book. I didn't get basic knowledge or at the least amount enjoyment. Throughout the book I always wished that book is going to be over as I never leave any books unfinished. If only I could leave it in between!!!! Compared to Authors other novels this book is flat and tasteless with the imbalance of textures and contents. 

I really find God plot is silly and stupid. And the revenge thing to carry a plot to overthrow Their Boss is outrageous. Even what is out of the board is that they try to create a malfunction in their products or appliances to receive phone calls from angry customers. And above all the customers are from Western Countries.

The author could have done a better job by either making the plot a complete fiction or the novel could have walked a better path if it was a total non fiction. The jumbling of both the plot leaves the readers confused and boring and above all readers might drop the book in between.

BY SANJITA NAPIT