The Three Mistakes Of My Life - A Review

Overall Rating: 7.0/10.0

Value for Money: 9.0/10.0

The first impression that you read 'The 3 Mistakes of My Life' is that it is a more general 'Five Point Someone', where the three main characters are not the part of a limited lot in an IIT but are three normal mortals trying to rise and come up as entrepreneurs in the city that praises business like none other – Ahmedabad.

The only other noticeable difference is that '3 mistakes' is will be better marketed because it is now associated with a known Chetan Bhagat and hence it will probably be more discussed and popularized. I believe Chetan Bhagat’s fans will not be disappointed, because of the lucid language and straight story where everyone can relate to some or the other character. The small joys and the big frustrations of growing up (which are pretty much common across India). More so, for people like me who have grown up in Ahmedabad, the whole story stirs up wonderful remembrances and events which make the story seem more real.

- The ambience of Gujarat and Ahmedabad are shown superbly and the few lines which rock the cradle of memories are:
1. Gujarat is the only state in India where people tend to respect you more if you are in business than if you are in service.
2. 'Gujarat is a dry state… People here get drunk on food'.
These are obvious facts and anyone even slightly associated with Gujarat would know how true this is!

The story revolves around 3 friends,

· Govind, a poor boy, who is driven by the desire to be a successful businessman, and grow beyond boundaries of imagination. But he is to an extent a realist as well and more of a normal boy with ambitions.
· Ishaan or 'Ish', he is the typical Indian who eats, drinks and even breathes cricket. He is a guy who has failed at living up to his passion, but he works with Govind to stay close to the thing he loves most in the world: cricket. He is also a very passionate guy and shows the true spirit of love and friendship. His selflessness is also worth a mention.
· Omi is the third of the three musketeers and probably the dumbest of the lot. He enjoys life with his friends and helped them with his “contacts” in the initial days of business.

So in their own way all three contribute to the success of the business! The book revolves around the state of Gujarat in early 21st Century, covering the gory earthquake, the Godhra Train burn and the bloody riots that followed.

The storyline has a lot of climax with addition of Ali, a young guy, who is an excellent cricketer, Vidya, who is Ish’s sister and Omi’s Mama (maternal uncle), who is dipped into politics of the state. As with his other books, '3 Mistakes' captures a reality where young people are constantly trying to make ends meet, and so instead of lavish spending, love to celebrate small things like Indian victories in cricket over a Thali joint and enjoy a lot of special moments on the building terrace or gardens rather than posh restaurants.

The story also contains a bit of religious theories and there is a time when any confused person would think the same way as Govind did when he met a charismatic Hindu leader who was provoking people in the name of religion, and the spirit of true Hindutva and Govind says: "I was both attracted to him and repelled by him. He had charisma and lunacy at the same time".

The book is definitely a good read but there are a few goof ups and a few areas where improvements could have come.

Though there are several factual goof-ups in the book itself, I think the 3 mistakes that the author made, which were a slight turn off when I was reading the book were:

1. Though he has done well, Chetan Bhagat could not take this book far away from the storyline of Five-point someone and somehow, the characters could be associated with the ones in that book.
2. Sex, boozing and friendship with a scintillating end. These things could have been managed better and the message that he leaves to the youth is pretty unclear.
3. And, last but not the least, the Gujju term for Ahmedabad residents is not Ambavadis but Amdavadis. This hurts slightly because I am proud to be one!

But glitches apart, at just Rs 95, this book is well-worth its money.