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Loading... One Night at the Call Center: A Novelby Chetan Bhagat
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will love Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. THis book, along with 'Memoirs of Midnight' by Sidney Sheldon, battles it out for the worst I've read. But to be fair, the idea wasn't bad. Its a pity, cause a good idea fell in the hands of an inept author. Its selling, so let it sell. (  ) Acrackedportrait | May 27, 2009 |  This novel is nothing special, has a mediocre storyline, a couple of semi-interesting characters and was a quick, mild diversion. I have several problems with it, though. First, it's pretty juvenile. The author fulfills his personal fantasies by having the main character get revenge on his boss and get the girl in the end. Second, the dialogue is unrealistic and the phone call from God is completely out of place. It's 5 seconds of fantasy in a novel that's supposed to be a slice of reality. Third, is that this novel is unapologetically anti-American. The author spends quite a lot of lines in many places in the book declaring Americans to be fat, stupid, lazy, paranoid war-mongers. Not nice. Fourth, the book cover claims that the book is funny. Nope. Not even a little. All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book. (  ) Lillyanne_M | Apr 26, 2008 | The synopsis tells you enough about the plot that I won't go into the details. This is such a quirky read and linking it to `The Office' (as Amazon has done) is not bad actually, it has that feel. I picked this up on a recommendation from a friend; she was spot on. When I read the opening chapter I thought yeah right, this isn't going to be that good but Bhagat's writing style is so easy you are soon swept along with the narrative. In the opening page we are asked to do a task - think about something you fear, that makes you angry and one thing you don't like about yourself. I had a think, came up with an idea and plodded on with the reading. When you reach the end of the novel you find yourself thinking about what you said in the beginning and viewing it in a different way. Clever stuff! God calling the characters who work in the call centre is a brilliant modern way of asking you not to find religion or allow Him into your heart but really just to trust and know you are watched over. It gave me a nice warm feeling! The characters are funny, they do some good things and some dreadful things all of which we are allowed to view through our own eyes and through the eyes of different characters. Overall a great read that is well written with funny characters. (  ) SmithSJ01 | Mar 23, 2008 | Sweet, but clumsy. (  ) scroeser | Jan 24, 2008 | Charming, but most valuable to me as a window into this culture. This book was first released in India where it was a best-seller - and when Ballantine picked it up they didn't remove much of the contempt for Americans. I'm confused by the prologue/God sequence, which leave me wondering if I'm missing cultural markers or whether this is just a darn strange book. I didn't much mind, however, not being as prickly about deity references as some. The characters were interesting to me, though mostly as an introduction to current Indian stereotypes; their resolution was far too neat. (  ) swl | Jul 5, 2007 |  no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0345498321, Paperback)Press 1 for technical support.Press 2 for broken hearts. Press 3 if your life has totally crashed. . . . Six friends work nights at a call center in India, providing technical support for a major U.S. appliance corporation. Skilled in patience–and accent management–they help American consumers keep their lives running. Yet behind the headsets, everybody’s heart is on the line. Shyam (Sam to his callers) has lost his self-confidence after being dumped by the girl who just so happens to be sitting next to him. Priyanka’s domineering mother has arranged for her daughter’s upscale marriage to an Indian man in Seattle. Esha longs to be a model but discovers it’s a horizontal romp to the runway. Lost, dissatisfied Vroom has high ideals, but compromises them by talking on the phone to idiots each night. Traditional Radhika has just found out that her husband is sleeping with his secretary. And Military Uncle (nobody knows his real name) sits alone working the online chat. They all try to make it through their shifts–and maintain their sanity–under the eagle eye of a boss whose ego rivals his incompetence. But tonight is no ordinary night. Tonight is Thanksgiving in America: Appliances are going haywire, and the phones are ringing off their hooks. Then one call, from one very special caller, changes everything. Chetan Bhagat’s delicious romantic comedy takes us inside the world of the international call center, where cultural cross-wires come together with perfect pathos, hilarity, and spice. (retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:57:55 -0400) The first test round has been closed. Visit the Open Shelves Classification group for details. |
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