The premise of 鈥淥ne Night @ the Call Center鈥� is simple. It鈥檚 about five call center agents going through the worst night of their lives, until a call The premise of 鈥淥ne Night @ the Call Center鈥� is simple. It鈥檚 about five call center agents going through the worst night of their lives, until a call from God not only saves their futures, but their lives as well. Written from the perspective of Shyam, the characters may seem stereotypically Indian, but that does not mean they鈥檙e just random people with issues. Instead, his characters have their own set of skeletons in their closet that make them uniquely human. This offers the chance to not only recognize the stereotypes, but to also understand that their flaws are what make them unique, which in turn allows the reader to empathize with them. For example, Esha is the typical beautiful Indian girl who wants to become a famous model, but because of a physical flaw, she becomes unthinkably desperate and does something that emotionally harms her. It is during her conversation with Shyam in the conference room that Esha鈥檚 true personality is revealed and we stop seeing her as just another pretty girl and begin to notice her layers of imperfection.
The gem of the book was the request Bhagat asked of his readers before the story began. It gave a feeling of suspense because the desire to find out what the connection was between the story and the request. What would have been ideal was if after the story ended, Bhagat reveals the reason for his request, thus giving his readers a sense of closure. Instead, he chose a different path that wasn鈥檛 as good as expected and did not give a sense of finality.
Although the characters were well-developed, what the author seem to have a penchant for, is to begin his story by explaining the reason he chose to write the selected novel. Not only has he done it here in 鈥淥ne Night鈥�, he also did it in his third novel 鈥�3 Mistakes of My Life鈥�. It would make a world of a difference if there was a profound reason for writing the novel, but in this case the prologue played no importance to the story and he could have done without it. Another thing that author could have done without was the style he in which he used to write the ending. It was written in true Bollywood fashion by over-dramatizing the end and shrugged off everything that made it real, and replaced it with fluff. It is very frustrating to say that the phone call from God felt more realistic than the story鈥檚 vacuous conclusion.
鈥淥ne Night @ the Call Center鈥� might seem like a novel with many flaws, but it is the uniqueness of the storyline that makes it a worthwhile read. The brief conversation between God and the five call center agents is what makes this book. During those few short pages, it is revealed how fear, anger and self-doubt are what keep us from achieving everything we can and want from life.
鈥淥ne Night @ the Call Center鈥� is a charming and unique story that is admirably detail-oriented and has outstanding characters, just as long as the reader can live with the fact that the book seemed more like a Bollywood script, minus the song and dance routines....more
Although there is no mention of Autism throughout the novel, it is implied that there is something wrong with the protagonist, Christopher. The story Although there is no mention of Autism throughout the novel, it is implied that there is something wrong with the protagonist, Christopher. The story begins with Christopher finding his neighbor鈥檚 dead dog and decides to investigate the murder in the style of his favorite detective, Sherlock Holmes. It is while investigating and writing this story that Christopher stumbles upon something bigger and deeper than a murdered dog. What follows is a touching and emotional story of a father and son, and the lies people tell to protect their loved ones.
Surprising as it may seem, there is a piece of Christopher in everyone and that is the best part of this novel. It is not the cause of the fear that is relatable. It is the feelings that arise from the fear that grips and creates that bond between reader and character, and it is this bond that causes the entire story to become more personal and heart-breaking.
The only flaw that lies within this novel is that it reads like a conversation with someone who has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The author jumps from the storyline to random subjects and back to the storyline a couple of times in almost every other chapter. Although these random subjects do relate to the story, the reader must be fully aware of everything going on to be able to keep up with the main character. This is definitely not a book that should be read whilst watching television.
This novel is most definitely recommended to everyone, regardless of age, race, gender or nationality. Haddon has made this a fun and interactive story to follow through cleverly constructed elements such as diagrams, maps and footnotes, and random interesting facts. Even if the reader feels no personal connection with the characters, it will still be a good book to read thanks to the thoughtfulness of the author....more
In a way, this book makes the reader understand why Mariah Carey said she felt confused as a child about who she was鹿. The pain of being neither here In a way, this book makes the reader understand why Mariah Carey said she felt confused as a child about who she was鹿. The pain of being neither here nor there for the main character, Birdie, was well written and successfully gets the reader to empathize with her. Sadly, that鈥檚 about the only good thing in this book.
Caucasia is split into three sections. The first is about Birdie鈥檚 African-American roots and her relationship with her father. The second, about looking caucasian like her mother. And finally, about her finding her place in the world. The first section was more fulfilling because not only are we introduced to Birdie, but we also see how she鈥檚 treated by African-Americans, Caucasians and her own family. We see a little girl lost in a sea of racism, favoritism and childish adults.
It is while reading the second part of this novel that the story begins to fall apart. Birdie鈥檚 childish demeanor begins to get annoying and every situation she鈥檚 placed in is uneventful and even somewhat forgettable. In the last part, as Birdie begins to speak her thoughts out loud, she regains the respect of the reader and shows depth to her character, except the reactions and development of the environment to her newfound character is unsatisfying and lacks the drama. Instead, the novel comes to an unsatisfying conclusion, which leaves the reader hanging and NOT in a good way. Quite honestly, the second and third parts of the novel could be shortened from 230 or so odd pages to about 100 pages.
Surprisingly, as disappointing as this book was, it is still a recommended read. Although the characters were not fully developed, the author鈥檚 description of the racial tension in America during the late 60s, 70s and early 80s was perceptive, as she throws you into a world of oppression and ignorance. That, is the winning element in this novel....more