One Night at the Call Centre

This is probably the finest book that I've had the chance to read this year. I'm very impressed. The dialogue is intelligent. The characters are well developed and thought out. The plot has moments which made me chuckle and others that made me think. It has a definite point which the author is able to convey without coming across as being preachy. A fine effort on Chetan Bhagat's part. I can't wait to read his other books and look forward to his next effort. To my fellow Americans who find this book offensive: Get over it and grow up. First - I've seen several people on here call the book racist. Americans are members of various and sundry races. I think the word you are looking for is "bigotry" and not "racism". The fact that you use the latter instead of the former is only relevant since it displays your knee-jerk attempts to find offense. Your statements illustrate far more about your own way of thinking than anything that was in the book. Second - This book displays absolutely no bigotry, whatsoever. If someone holds a mirror to your face and you don't like what you see, is it fair to blame the mirror? I have the sense that Mr Bhagat isn't as anti-American as he is a patriotic, pro-Indian nationalist who is concerned at the direction that successful young people are taking in his country. He doesn't want them to become a bunch of whining losers who blame everyone else for their problems, take offense at the drop of a hat, expect the world to owe them something, and go around suing everyone because they're too afraid of the future to live like human beings. Frankly, I can't blame him for wanting to stop this. It hasn't been alot of fun watching my own countrymen act this way. Who can fault the author for not wanting the contagion to spread. And, to be blunt, this book is one of the best narrative illustrations of globalization that I have ever read. America has spent the past several decades trying to create a more globalized world, and now that we are there, we are running around in fear of the society we struggled to make. Did you recognize the four step success formula in the book? The one that came from God in a cell phone call? THOSE ARE AMERICAN VALUES! *WE* introduced them to the world in the form of rugged individulism, laissez-faire economics, personal freedom and optimism. We told the world, "These are the things that made us great and they can make you great too." Guess what... They believed us! Do we take pride and inspiration from the fact that an Indian author touts these concepts as his own? Of course not! Why would we when we no longer believe in them ourselves?! Instead we fault the messenger who tells us that we no longer live up to the values that we used to espouse. Shame on you! Quit acting like a bunch of children! After reading this book, you have a choice. You can either accept that this message applies to you, as well as to Indians, and then act accordingly. Or, you can disregard it and go back to blaming the rest of the world for challenging your preminence and creating your troubles. The first could improve your situation. The second will not. And if you doubt what I'm saying, ask yourself the following question. Mr Bhagat could have written this book in Hindi. He chose English, instead. Why? When you find the answer, you will be a step closer to understanding the world we currently live in and your false perceptions about it.

So things are not going so well. Your girl friend is going to marry another guy; your job is going to disappear, and your boss has just knifed you in the back. Don't you wish you would get a call from God explaining how to sort it out? You must still solve the problems, but sometimes all we really need is a push in the right direction. A delightful and readable tale about the people we talk to at night when we can't get our high tech stove to work and their hopes, dreams, and crushed expectations. Highly recommended light but thoughtful reading.

I am just reading and enjoying this book.

Nice book, well written, and humorous with great punch lines. Call center life in India well portrayed. The characters are funny, and at the same time have some serious turns in their life, which makes you think. The flow of the book is amazing,and you cannot just drop it, till you read till the end!! The language is simple and almost like a dialogue between friends which makes it easier to relate to!!

Good book. Keeps one glued to the book with real life happenings in a call center. Office politics and romance are very interesting to read

The simplicity, fast pace, and the deft one liners about the common human thought processes make Chetan Bhagat's writing so much fun...

Book is interesting, but not particularly well written. It became very anti-American toward the end so I quit reading.

Compared to other literary works by Indian authors this one lacks the sophistication and polish. Yet it gives one an insight in modern Indian society. A tad too nationalistic at the end...