The Way Corporate Works: Review of Chapter 11 by Amit Shankar

This is always better to read books by the same author must be chronological order. I did the other way round. The first book I read was Love is Vodka and then Chapter 11. His first impression was that of a person who writes chick-lit and can write a girl’s character with such élan that you would doubt that the writer might be a female.

Chapter 11 is his second book and he has already famous for his debut book, Flight to the Hilsa, about a woman artist. He has indeed learned to portray his woman characters. In his book, Chapter 11, the protagonist is a male and he is looking to broaden his horizons.

He is done with his old job and his home town where everyone seems to know him. He joins a Fortune 500 Company which is in Gurgaon. From the time when he has stayed in Delhi during his college days to now, it is all different.

Disaster happens when his company files for bankruptcy or Chapter 11. He has no idea what to do and how to behave. He is idealistic in nature but his bosses and his mentor isn’t. He has to choose between the two.  The novel revolves around the concept of molarity and also how much the world has changed over the time.

Coming back to the novel, it is a narrated well. The prologue makes for an interesting read and piques the interest of the reader. The questions of faithfulness, loyalty and above all greed are answered and how important they are in a corporate culture. Does the fast life means that we skip past our morality and live a life of a person who has no values.

The clash between the old system and the new one is written in such a way that you understand bot point of views. Amit Shankar has tried to capture the essence of how in a corporate there is more than just good salary. It is not 9-6 but 24x7. The book is

relatable and the way the protagonist deals in his life is very close to reality. We all want big houses, cars and dreams also very big.

The quandary is if we can do anything for those dreams or humanity is much more important than that. Amit Shankar asks some hard hitting questions with his book. Whether it is his introspection or ours, one thing is for sure, Chapter 11 is swift, racy and a total package. 

Review of Love is Vodka, One Shot Ain’t Enough By Amit Shankar

Alcohol has never been my cup of tea or a glass or even a shot.  So I lose the analogy of why one shot ain’t enough. But then as I started reading the book and the characters were introduced, I realised that most of the book is like Vodka, there is the high you get and the hangover that follows.

The book is about a young teenage girl, Moon (I loved the name as it was different and stuck with me even after I have finished reading the book). She is a daughter of an Indian mother and French father. Her father soon left as he already had a family in France and his wife was ill. Moon has his presence only through Facebook and the gifts her sends.

Her mother is the one she wants the love of but Moon’s mother is too busy to notice. There are string of boys and men coming in her life and giving her a taste of love. From being an intern in an Ad-agency to being a model and then face of a mass protest, she does it all but love is the only thing she wants. 

Amit Shankar has chosen a female protagonist to tell his story of teenage romances and how much love is wanted in our lives but is it that easy or it is always enough. Moon’s boyfriends and her choices in boy friends always leave you with a sense of why? Why she chooses them apart from the character of Devil, her boss in the Ad-agency and her mother’s boyfriends, most of her boyfriends have the typical teenager written all over. Her romance with the guys she meet and the stories they create, get convoluted as Moon jumps from one romance to other.  

Coming back to the review, the book is a travel read. If you are looking for just something to pass your time as you go on your journey. It may not leave you with a high but it will be no hangover either. The portrayal of the main character Moon is praise worthy and the story of romance between the devil and her are the highlights of the book. It is a good effort by a serious writer to enter the world of click-lit but it could have been more.