I just finished reading Chetan Bhagat’s newest book, The Three Mistakes of My Life (3MML). After reading One night at the call centre, I didn’t have high hopes from this book. It seemed that he was trying too hard to come up with books one after the other, consequently his stories lacked the depth of research which would have been warranted. However 3MML is a better book, in terms of the story line and the credulity of the story.

This story is set in Ahmedabad at the turn of the millennium. It talks about three friends (with similar undertones to that of Hari, Alok, Ryan from 5 point someone), who having nothing better to do, start up a business. For those following Gujarat’s history in the last decade, two major events shaped the history and the life of people living in Gujarat, the earthquake and the riots. The best part about this book is the way Chetan Bhagat weaves in these events into the story. This integration of fact and fiction is brilliant.

I could relate to the story and the events as I spent those years in Ahmedabad itself. I was there during the earthquake, during 9/11 and during the riots. The despair, the surprise and the tension, I have felt it all. Other references in the story to Law Garden (Love Garden), ATIRA and Navrangpura have obviously been influenced by the author’s years in IIM-A. All these places are quite close to IIM-A’s campus. And here lies a few glaring inconsistencies in the story. The story is mainly set in the pols of the old city of Ahmedabad. It would be prohibitively expensive for three 21-year olds (who we know are not too well off) to travel by rickshaw to the new city and back. Anyone in their position would take the city bus. I would give the benefit of doubt about the incessant use of mobiles and SMSes. Although those were quite expensive as well, I can safely assume that looking at the profits they were making Govind was able to afford the mobile.

SPOILERS BELOW

And my last peeve about the story, was the climax. For those who haven’t read the book, there are a few spoilers ahead. So beware. The protagonist Govind mentions the third mistake of his life as being too late to save Ali’s wrist from being slashed. As a result of this he couldn’t play cricket the way he used to. But in the end his wrist gets better. So technically that is not his mistake. But the climax itself, with Mama killing Omi and getting bumped off himself was too contrived. This is how I would have ended the book. Govind’s last mistake would be unable to save Ali, or in a moment of nervousness, stopping Ish from saving Ali. Mama would be successful in his killing spree. And Govind would live with the death of Ali constantly on his shoulder. That would be a convincing reason for him to pop some pills. Moreover his inability to save Ali would further strain his relation with Ish. But well, that’s just me.

SPOILERS END

All in all, 3MML is a better effort by Chetan Bhagat than his previous book. I would recommend this book to anyone wishing to have a glance at how Ahmedabad got shaped in the last 8 years.

Previous posts about Ahmedabad:
ATIRA, A morning on the railway station