Have you ever discussed a book for weeks after you have read it? I am sure you have, if you have read Harry Potter. The world is full of Harry Potter junkies.The same can be said for books written by Dan Brwn, George R Martin, Rick Riordan, Khaled Hossieni and sometimes even Chetan Bhagat. Last night I got into one such discussion with a "close friend" about a recent book I read. "Sleeping with Jupiter" by Anuradha Roy.
For those who aren't familiar with the name of the author or the book, let me tell you this book had made it to the long-list of The Man Booker Prize 2015. And I have not made a spelling mistake. It is Anuradha roy and not Arundhati Roy. Please don't get confused.
The book has been deftly crafted and is very compact. Another noteworthy thing is the use of very simple English. Not many 13-lettered words to be specific. I am not going to review the book here. It certainly deserves a separate post.
I will come back to the conversation I had with my friend. I recommended this book to him but there wasn't much interest generated. I will quote a line from the conversation "If the book is any good they will make a movie based on it soon. I'll watch it". I retorted that many good books have been ruined by their movie adaptations.
There was another remark about "Indian authors not being very good". And as an example the name of Chetan Bhagat was thrown in.
This is something I find really irritating. Chetan Bhagat is a very ordinary writer. In fact I doubt that his books can be called literature. But funnily enough he is the most read Indian author in the country. His books have done one good thing at least. They have bought reading books back in fashion.
However, this conversation has inspired me to share a few of my thoughts about Chetan Bhagat books.
If you prefer reading books while travelling you have probably met a few of the below mentioned idiots
1) Idiots who have never read a single book, but will still comment on the lack of quality Indian Literature
2) Idiots who have read only Chetan Bhagat books, loved them, and are now self-proclaimed literature scholars.
3) Idiots who have read Chetan Bhagat books and other similar crappy love stories by various forgettable authors and profess their love for books and how reading is their passion.
4) Idiots who claim Chetan Bhagat's books are pathetic because of poor English.
5) Idiots who keep commenting on how they can't even read 20 pages at a time and wonder how you can read an entire novel at one go.
6) Idiots who actually have read a lot, but will never appreciate a book unless it is written by a foreigner. This particular breed of Idiots actually has a small population.
If you belong to any of the above mentioned categories please feel free to get offended.
PS:
1) To: "He who must not be named" : This is what you asked for dear friend :)
2) I am not a fan of Chetan Bhagat but I did like "Five point someone" & "Two states". His recent books may be disasters but that is because of bad content and not bad English. Lastly, he must be credited for generating interest for reading books among many.
