BookRack

>2 States- Chetan Bhagat

fiction

by  |  on March 26th, 2011  |  23 comments

>

I am no die hard fan of Chetan Bhagat. Sure, I have read all his books and have found them entertaining. I have identified with many events of Five Point Someone and recommended his books to many friends. But his books did not have the raw resonance of say, Jhumpa Lahiri. That is before he came out with his latest offering, 2 States, the story of my marriage. This is undoubtedly his best till date. The simple and sweet boy meets girl love story has been presented in a wonderfully innovative and refreshing manner. The cultural and linguistic divide between the two families (yes, the boy is Punjab da puttar while the girl is a Tam bam, no less.) has been brought out in a manner which is humorous as well as poignant. Bhagat manages to put across his point with remarkable candor without being preachy. The best part of the book is that the sense of fun never goes away. Some Tamils and Punjabis may be a bit miffed at the mild dose of sarcasm directed at them but as Bhagat says you only make digs at people you care for. I don’t really know how much of the book is autobiographical but the situations seem real enough. The book is an easy read (which is the USP of all Bhagat works anyway) but the underlying message is not lost. The book is priced at a reasonable Rs.95.00( available at a further 50% discount on Flipkart, just don’t ask me about the economical feasability) and has already sold over 4 lakh copies making it a bigger hit than all his other works. And now it is being made into a major motion picture by none other than the Badshah of Bollywood, Sharukh Khan. My recommendation- Go for it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

admin (476 Posts)


 
Add a comment

Comments (23)

  1. Abhinav Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >I appreciated the book a lot because it was not far from real.Many of my friends in Chennai were from North India and had love stories similar to this.They are still fighting it out.
  2. Sudam Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Read and forget. They are good chocolates. Thanks.
  3. Anonymous Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Its very easy to say, I hate Bhagat/ He is no writer but show me one contemporary writer who has influenced more minds in the present generation.
  4. Ben Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >What Chetan Bhagat writes may not be profound but he is very entertaining.
  5. Divenita Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Well.. the "Chetan bhagat" debate is endless.

    But yes, he did make many people writers!
  6. Ben Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Agreed Divenita. I am one of his followers as I got the inspiration to write from him.
  7. Ben Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Abhinav, your point is appreciated. What Chetan writes is pretty close to truth. ( seen through rose tinted glasses of course, but then who wants to read about dull lives of dull people).
  8. Ben Saturday - 26 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Sudam, chocolates, though sinful, are still delicious.
  9. Roshmi Sinha Sunday - 27 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Yes, Chetan Bhagat was a trendsetter... and many took to writing after the stupendous success of 'Five Point Someone'.

    '2 States' was all set to make its appearance in its celluloid avatar starring Saif Ali Khan and Priyanka Chopra, to be produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. But I guess that is all in the past now. The latest buzz is that SRK will play Krish while Vishal Bharadwaj will direct it.

    Aamir @ 44 played the role of an engineering student in the movie '3 Idiots'. While SRK @ 46 will have to play the role of an IIM student... if all izz well :)
  10. Bookworm Monday - 28 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Chetan Bhagat is no Author... but he is an entertaining writer and while many people are not really fond of him (me included)mainly bcoz wat he writes is not real literature, what should not be forgotten is the sheer increase in the number of people who have now started reading solely because of him!! :)

    P.S. I am not sure how well will SRK manage the IIM Grad act though.. :/
  11. Roshmi Sinha Tuesday - 29 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >@ Bookworm: I agree. Chetan Bhagat is no author but he is canny enough to know what sells like the proverbial hot cake :)

    His '2 States: The Story of My Marriage' sits at the top of the 'Fiction Bestsellers Of 2010' having sold some 10,000,00 copies. Not sure if there's one too many zeros but that's the figure courtesy outlookindia. Jeffrey Archer's 'Thereby Hangs a Tale' is a distant second with 93,000 copies only.

    Here's the link: http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?269646

    P.S. SRK playing an IIM grad = the IIM grad becoming SRK :)
  12. Booklover Wednesday - 30 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >@Roshmi - I read it on Chethan Bhagat's facebook page too :)
  13. Ben Wednesday - 30 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Here is a seriously laudatory review of 2 States which was posted on Book rewies today. According to the reviewer, even Chetan Bhagat loved it.

    http://bookreviews.bookrack.in/2011/03/north-south-cocktail-chetan-bhagats-2.html
  14. Shail Raghuvanshi Wednesday - 30 / 03 / 2011 Reply
    >Thanks Ben for mentioning my review here.
    The link to what Chetan Bhagat mentioned is here:
    http://musenmotivation.wordpress.com/appreciation/
  15. Roshmi Sinha Sunday - 03 / 04 / 2011 Reply
    >@ Booklover: He sure knows his marketing all right!
  16. Shail Raghuvanshi Thursday - 19 / 05 / 2011 Reply
    >Thanks Rohit. Thanks Ben.
  17. BooksVillage Tuesday - 30 / 08 / 2011 Reply
    >He is a true witty author who knows how to tickle the funny bone.
  18. TUHIN Friday - 17 / 08 / 2012 Reply
    Great fun reading it. Specially it teaches us good lesson that parents are more important than all. MICKEY MOUSE UNDERWEAR is great!
  19. shreya Sunday - 28 / 10 / 2012 Reply
    he is a very good writer all of his stories related to someons lyf
  20. vijay Tuesday - 30 / 10 / 2012 Reply
    he is an awsome writer
  21. vijay Tuesday - 30 / 10 / 2012 Reply
    he is an good writer
  22. Aina Goyal Sunday - 25 / 11 / 2012 Reply
    this story realy touch my heart............... thanks to chetan ji
  23. Maash Sunday - 12 / 05 / 2013 Reply
    Good Job by Chetan.. it is really entertaining.. expressed in simple english. n some parts in book are unforgettable coz it happened in my life too...

Add a comment