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ShareIt's but natural to compare Chetan Bhagat's latest addition to his list of novels -- 2 states: The story of my life to his first Five Point Someone. After all, he himself has confessed in his interviews that his current book picks up the thread from where his first book ended. Five Point Someone was hilarious, fresh and hard to put down. 2 states is nowhere near it; the jokes are clichéd, the storyline too predictable, with the book reminding you of so many typical Bollywood films you must have seen in the past. With the kind of popularity Bhagat has amassed in recent years, his new book does nothing much to justify it.
2 states is similar to Bhagat's real life experience -- marrying his then girlfriend Anusha despite protests from both sides of the family, and how in the end love prevails over petty differences and the winners have it all. One of the good aspects about the book is that the tempo is set from the first page itself -- the narrative is fast, almost in a style similar to his previous books, where the protagonist begins the story by confessing his deeds and misdeeds to a complete stranger, in this case -- a psychotherapist.
Through 2 states, Bhagat takes a dig at several local customs and traditions and throws light on many religious references and local practices. But certain descriptions and examples tickle your senses -- the protagonist's inability to comprehend Tamil -- "something, something illa illa;" the protagonist's mother guessing the reason why Gandhiji's famous walk in 1930 was called the Dandi March -- she innocently asks, "Because he carried a stick?" There are so many smaller elements in this book that will make you laugh out loud, but we only wish the bigger picture was as funny as individual pages.
2 states ultimately is a simple read, the storyline evolves without taking too many twists and turns and makes the reader happy to realise that ultimately love and commitment is what maters most -- despite geographical separations and differences of caste, creed and colour.
Title: 2 states: The story of my life
Author: Chetan Bhagat
Publisher: Rupa & Co
Price: Rs 95
Rating: **
