Five Point Someone, by Chetan Bhagat

About the author:

Chetan Bhagat is one of India’s most known authors. He’s the author of five novels and a collection of essays. All five novels have either already been, or expected to be, made into movies.

Cover and blurb:

The cover is somewhat like a college notebook, and the book is subtitled what not to do at IIT. The cover talks of a college story, of three friends and the darker side of IIT.

My thoughts on the book:

Chetan Bhagat is one of those authors I’ve loved and hated. I guess not every book can be a super hit, but I’ve read four of his five novels, felt two was average, and two was way below par. I’ve this habit of not reading books in order. So when one of my friends saw that I’ve not read CB’s debut book, Five Point Someone, she gave me her copy and told me I have to read that. I decided to complete the set of CB novels and took it eagerly. I’d heard rave reviews of the book from most of my friends, and with the movie 3 Idiots being adapted from this one (loosely adapted, I might add), I thought it possibly couldn’t be worse than the two novels I’ve felt way below par.

Five Point Someone brings to us, the story of three friends and their life in IIT. These three friends are linked, not by common points, but how they don’t have much in common at all. It tells us of their studies, their friendship, their obstacles (including the teachers), the ragging and the revolt and many other aspects of college life that many of us might be able to relate to.

Is the book memorable? No. Not very. It’s a simply written simple story with not a lot of twists and turns etc. It’s a fast paced book which you might pick up on a journey and the plot keeps you occupied for a few hours, save you from boredom on that. There are various characters that you can step into the shoes of and possibly understand their life. You feel intrigued by the depth of friendship between the main trio, and you do wish for a happy ending to the novel, which does happen. This book however is not for those who are really in love with English (like me), and you wish it was narrated better. Looking at the plot more critically, the actions of the characters may not make sense at all, and you start banging your head as to why you took it up in the first place. (It’s something that has happened to me when I’ve read his other novels).

Want a book that’s a definite one-time read and has only enough to keep the imagination occupied for a few hours? Then perhaps this is a book you can try. Not one of my favorites, but not CB’s worst either.

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My rating: 2.5/5

Book Details:
Title: Five Point Someone
Author: Chetan Bhagat
ISBN: 9788129104595
Genre: Contemporary
Publishers: Rupa and Company
Price: INR. 95

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Reviewed by Leo

Shared with

1. Indian Quills Review Challenge at The Tales Pensieve

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Fragments by Nimue

About the author:

Nimue is the author of the blog “Pages from my mind” and she’s the vice-principal of a quite hectic school of review bloggers called “A Lot of Pages” (this blog, just in case you missed the title). She’s a fun-to-be-with, talkative, friendly, smiling gal with an appetite for reading books and a talent for writing poetry. “Fragments” is her debut collection of poetry.

My thoughts on the book:

She says the book is the musings of a broken heart, mending the same with poetry. I can’t think of a better way to summarize the book actually. This is poetry to touch the heart, since it is penned from her heart. Nimue was one of the first people I ever met on blogsville, and her poetry has been quite revealing and inspiring since then, even on my own journey as a poet. (I think I’ve told her that, but if not, here it is!)

Some of her poems, you know, make me feel like I can be in those shoes and understand that. It’s like she’s written one of my thoughts, like we share that thought. I quote from one of her poems there titled Nightmare: “People most times, promise to stay, yet are gone”. I can feel that. I have been one who has had it both ways. I’ve promised to stay and then gone, and I’ve been promised and the promise broken. It ain’t the best of feelings I can tell you that. The poem after that is titled Broken Dreams, and that one to me defines the book. Life goes on, and we have to understand that. This poem has the healing words I feel: “I clear the way for a new and happy tomorrow.” Another favorite of mine is the poem on secrets.

I’m also given a big smile by some of her descriptions before the poem. The one for the poem titled Home for e.g.: “Home is not the measured space, the color of walls, the dark and dusty corners or the smell of the cleaning liquid you use for floors. It sometimes is just the memory you create there.” Yeah, that’s home to me alright! The poem that follows quite leaves me wonderstruck (her poems have that quality).

What I liked:

The cover, so simple yet alluring, in that orange that is so vibrant yet calming like the setting sun on the seaside, I adore that. I just wish the poetess’ name was on it too you know. The poems are something I could understand (well, mostly I guess, though how I interpret and what she means might be totally different things!) and I loved them. The explanation brings that personal touch to it.

What I didn’t like:

Well, I didn’t like that the poetess’ name isn’t on the cover! That was needed. And also, some poems I wished that they had a title.

Closing thoughts:

A collection of poetry to let you ponder, and then make you voice along with it. Nothing complex, all simple in creation. I do wish there was a Hindi poem there with its translation. A collection by Nimue sorta seems incomplete without that trademark! If your poem was supposed to be marked by my (reader’s) breath, I think that may have happened, coz I’m quite out of breath after!

Rating: 9 on 10

Book details:

Title: Fragments

Author: Nimue

Genre: Poetry

Type: Kindle e-Book

ASIN: B00ASNQUC6

Price: INR 80

Pages: 57

Reviewed by Leo

Also shared with IQRC and First Reads challenge.

The Loudest Firecracker - Arun Krishnan

AUTHOR – Arun Krishnan was born in New Delhi, lived in Pune and studied in Los Angeles. He quit Mechanical Engineering in 1996 and smoking in 2001. Over the last ten years, Arun has worked in the media departments of two advertising agencies in New York City. He has also worked for Concern Worldwide, an Irish international relief organisation and IBM, an international for-profit corporation.

SYNOPSIS – It's India versus Pakistan and as the excitement soars in the final over of a memorable cricket match, ten-year-old Siddharth sets off a firecracker. The blast that follows will change his life. Siddharth discovers that growing up isn't easy: he has to handle a tragic death, his best friend is gravitating to a rghtwing political party, and his film-maker father has troubles of his own as he shifts away from the commercial but lucrative world of Hindi movies. And Poona is nothing at all like Bombay. Will tennis matches help, or can his mother's beautifully retold myths do the trick? Will instant noodles come to Siddharth's rescue, or will it be his old elocution standby, The Charge of the Light Brigade? In this touching, poignant and often hilarious debut novel, Arun Krishnan has created a world we all recognise, one that will appeal equally to young adults and a more mature audience.

PULKIT SPEAKS -


An Honest effort to use writing as a medium of touching sensitive issues in the light of simplistic fiction.

This one started a bit slow for me but soon grabbed my attention a lot. The central character is a 10 year Old Boy, and the book deals with his vision of the world around him.

Its realistic, Its funny and yet very emotional. The story deals with his coming of age before time, as it happens to kids who unfortunately lose their parents in an early age. It make you ponder upon the bond that you share with your parents, The warmth of your mother, the coconut like compassion of your father.It also pulls you down your own memory lane when it deals with the long slow evenings of protagonist playing with his friends. Every aspect of narration from the third person speech at maximum places is sarcastic and hilarious and the same time intentionally touching a sensitive issue of the society, eventually leaving me in a flurry of emotions at many places. How straightfully we look at things when we are young and How complicated we turn them around us as we grow up is a lesson that every reader can learn when you see it from the vision of the author! I was glad to see someone attempting a work like on his debut novel. Childhood thought process and its innocence at its best is what one can expect with this one. Its a brilliant effort if not nessesarily a perfect entertainer book. Very unique from what young Indian author shelf usually provides you and I recommended you not to miss it and appreciate the attempted writing style.

RATING – 3/5. Looking to read more intriguing works on the same lines by the young Indian authors, specifically those coming from the middle class. Someday I hope, the publishers look beyond campus stories to market debut works of writers like this.

PRICE - Rs 195

Hardcover edition

Tranquebar Press

purchased from Landmark bookstore,@ wave mall, Lucknow


PS – Gifted to me by my elder brother. He speaks to me, by the course of what he gives me to read. Love his ways.