Let's get the obvious out of the way first: of course The Girl in Room 105 is a story about an incredibly beautiful, smart and independent woman who loves a guy who, for the lack of a more decent term, is a loser. But that is where this story turns away from the typical style we associate with Chetan Bhagat.
The book describes itself as an 'unlove story', I disagree wholeheartedly.
This is a story about Zara, a beautiful, intelligent, open minded and brave woman (and rich) who used to be in love with the narrator, a typical, average guy, Keshav, with a deadbeat job and only one friend. When they break up (Keshav's fault, obviously), her life and her heart take her to a path no one would have imagined her to take. It is Keshav's unfortunate job to persevere through the convoluted trail she left to find closure.
This book is an easy read, as are all Bhagat's books, mostly. No repeated use of the dictionary. The simple narration lends this story a feel of familiarity. Real locations, familiar names of app, companies and other trivial details serve right as a tempering of authenticity and contemporariness. One could easily imagine himself to feel and act as Keshav does.
But when the main story kicks off, with it's geopolitical flavour, one is forced to wonder if a guy as simple and relatable as Keshav would or could do what he does.
In this context, the story revolves more around the events that took place with a little lesser focus on the persons, the characters, the motivations.
Still, this book is a good read for what it is, with the climax not so suspenseful and the path to the end a touch too convenient and the epilogue of happy ending feeling like band aid on a bruise.
I'm sure we are going to be served a movie based (quite loosely) on this story, which, for what it's worth, would undermine the value of this narrative with cheesy romance and dance numbers.
I'd probably not re-read this Novel again in the future, but it still was really a good one in a long time.
Comments