400 days by Chetan Bhagat: 5 Point Book Review
Inspired from my all time favorite movie reviewer Zain Anwar (He is Funniest and most sensible movie reviewer out their), I have decided to start reviewing books. As I am as big as a geek for books as he is for Movies. I have read “400 days” by Chetan Bhagat and in next 5 points I am going to tell you what I think about it, because this is Suraj and you are reading 5 points book review (Sorry, Zain Bhai 😂)
Plot of the Book
“400 days” revolved around Keshav Rajpurohit (Yes, He is same Keshav from, One Arranged Murder and The Girl in Room 105). This is the third installment to the Chetan’s Detective thriller series. Book take place in Gurugram, Keshav now lives with his Mother and Father along with his Fat and tech-savvy Friend Sourav. He come across a mother named Alia Arora, who is searching for her daughter who is missing for past 6 months. The police had given up and now her family had also given up. Her last hope is our own armature deactivate, Keshav. Although the book is advertised as a thriller, it is anything but a thriller. The book never takes you to the edge of your seat, and the slow pace of the book is a major reason for it. The plot, while interesting, doesn’t quite deliver the suspense and excitement that one would expect from a thriller. The plot is not entirely fresh, we have seen and read stories like that.
Characters in the Book
The Book have many characters. But major characters are Keshav Rajpurohit, the lead and an engineer turn detective, Alia Arora, an ex-modal turn housewife, Manish Arora, husband of Alia. Alia and Manish have two daughters, Suhana and Siya and there is whole Arora family, also inspector Chautala.
We have known character of Keshav and Sourav from last two books, engineers duos from “The girl in Room 105”, who now own a detective agency. Growth in character development in Keshav’s part was disappointing as the character is more or less same as he was on “One arranged murder” and same can be said about Sourav.
On other hand, Character of Alia is quite complex, when reading you will find her character changing with her age, from a young 18 year wanna be model to a mother and then a middle age women in affair. Sometime her character seems like an opportunistic but on diving deep you can realize it is because of the lack of love and chaos that the character had seen in her young life.
While other character are more or less unidirectional and have some specific trait which can be sum up in one line per character. Mr. Shamsher Arora, Alia’s father-in-law is a ex-service men turn business man, loves his family while his wife, Alia’s mother-in-law is not fond of her. Manish have a brother and a sister-in-law, His brother Timmy have two children both boys. Family also have a family priest, Shastri Ji. Some other characters also pops up here and there but these are major characters.
Writing in the Book
Chetan Bhagat is known for his simple and easy-to-read writing style. His books are often praised for being accessible to beginners and those who don’t typically read a lot. Many readers enjoy his relatable characters and storylines, as well as his ability to tackle social issues in an approachable way. While his writing may not be considered literary or complex, it has certainly resonated with a wide audience and made him one of India’s most popular authors and that is true about “400 days” too. Book is very simple to read and beginner friendly but the praises for writing style ends here. Being simple and easy to read cannot justify it’s lacking in story and character building, Books fall flat on face of readers as it does not have any depth and you will not feel connected anytime.
Ekphrasis
In the book “400 Days” , while the plot is set in Gurugram and Kochi, the author does not use the cities as characters in the story. This means that whether the plot is set in Gurugram or in New York or in Delhi, there would be no difference. The descriptions of the various scenes are also lacking in detail, making it difficult for the reader to fully immerse themselves in the story.
In his earlier work, Chetan Bhagat demonstrated his word smithing skills, which seems to be lacking in “400 Days”. We expect a more vivid and engaging reading experience that would captivate readers from beginning to end from Chetan but unfortunately that what lacking in this book.
Conclusion
After reading Chetan Bhagat’s “400 day”, I am inclined to give it a 2.5 star rating. While the book is definitely easy to read and provides some entertainment value, I found myself wishing for more depth and complexity in the story. That being said, the book does have its merits. It offers a light-hearted that can be enjoyed over a weekend.
Overall, if you’re looking for a quick and easy read, “400 day” is worth checking out. However, if you’re looking for something with more substance and depth, you may want to look elsewhere. a.k.a don’t bother reading.
