Book Review: 2 States by Chetan Bhagat

This is the first book I’ve read by an Indian author. I wanted one which was set in India, but didn’t have India or “Indianness” as the theme of the book as such. I tried reading Midnight Chidren by Salman Rushdie and abandoned it because I found it too boring. Everyone assured me that “2 States” wasn’t about India as such, but about two people. They were right…and a bit wrong as well. The story is about how two people from different states fall in love and can’t get married because the parents will object to it.

2 States by Chetan Bhagat - the story of a jerk
2 States by Chetan Bhagat – the story of a jerk

I was shocked by how big a jerk the main protagonist was. It’s written in the first person, but I can’t feel any sympathy whatsoever for the lead character. He’s thoughtless, puts up with all kinds of rudeness from his overbearing and nauseatingly bigoted mother and doesn’t utter a peep when she openly insults the girl he loves. In one situation his mother complains about how she’s too independent, and thinking themselves alone he assures her that she’ll be brought under control once married. The girl overhears this and predictably leaves him in a fit of rage. He goes to pieces and we’re supposed to feel sorry for him.

Sorry dude, but if you act like an asshole you deserve to be treated like one.

After they both have sex for the first time, the girl begins to ask him about their future. Granted it’s a bit naive for her to simply assume that there’s going to be a future and I can’t blame the guy for not really thinking about it. But even after he becomes aware of how important the question is for her, he pretends not to understand what she’s talking about and keeps putting her off. Total jerk material.

Usually in books written in the first person, the author makes the reader sympathetic to his cause. Reasons are given for even shameful conduct and while the reader may not approve of his or her actions, they can at least understand the motivations. But Chetan Bhagat gives nothing – no explanations for why he acts like a prick. He completely alienated me and made me feel he deserved his misfortune.

His final plot resolution came out of nowhere. A complete deus ex machina. In real life he would be reaping the consequences of his actions to this date. Only in the middle of the book do I begin to like him when he’s trying to win over the girl’s parents. But then he falls back into prickiness again.

The girl is only slightly better. She’s unable to see how insulting her own parents are and refuses to say a word against them. She doesn’t want to marry anyone else, but still allows her parents to fix up meetings with other men. It’s not only unjust to the guy she’s in love with, it’s also unfair to the men who come to see her.

The book is full of stereotypes. No attempt is made at character development and our author happily judges people based on their hair do, their accent and the food they eat. Granted lots of people judge in this way, but I read an author for his superior insight into the world not for his superficial judgement of appearances.

My wife tells me that all people are like this. That almost everyone in India is entirely beholden to their parents. I can’t and won’t believe this. It’s not possible for everyone to be such a big asshole as the main protagonist. Perhaps he exaggerated and actually did try and restrain his mother when she behaved in such a shocking manner towards the girl and his parents. I certainly hope so. If my wife is right and most people in India are like this I’m gonna get real depressed.

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  • You're an asshole (19)
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56 thoughts on “Book Review: 2 States by Chetan Bhagat”

  1. i think bhagwad u did a wonderful job telling the truth. though not a chetan fan i read the book coz my frends askd me to nd cudn’t go more thn the first half coz it was too. . offensive nd boring. its like a story(wn’t call it a love story coz its insulting to all the romance authors out there) where everyone is just out to insult everyone else. the mothers made me wana scratch their eyes out, felt like hitting the crap out of the protagonist like a gazillion times. honestly i lOVE ur review. totally second everything

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  2. Bhagwad, I liked your review, it helped me look at the book and its characters in a new light. The main character does come off as a jerk but I have to say that I did find it a tad bit funny :) I just picked this book up yesterday to read and being from punjab can relate to a lot that he is going through with his mother. I have a very close friend who married a Tamilian and believe me I have almost seen this whole story unfold before my eyes which makes this even more interesting. It does potray a very real part of our society. It is sad that even though we all come from educated families, sometimes we are over powered by the stereotypes in the society.

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  3. According to me, Chetan Bhagat’s male and female protagonists were both rash and immature. The whole series of events that led them to get into a relationship and certain incidents during their courting proves this.
    The fact that this kind of relationship, which started off when two study-partners ended up in a physical relationship(that too within 2 weeks as mentioned in the book), ended up in marriage is itself surprising. Its nothing but a bad message to the youth of India.

    Its hard to say whether the way they tackled their parents was right or wrong, since in India (esp. since this book is set in a society that existed about 15-20 years ago) sons and daughters need to keep their moths shut in front of their parents as much as possible.

    Anyway, in my opinion, no matter how engrossing Chetan Bhagat’s books are, he always messes up at some point. In two states, this happens when Ananya convinces the future husband of one of Krish’s sisters to disobey his parents and call off the dowry. The whole situation as to how Ananya calls all the siblings together and convinces them and how even the grown-ups listen to her seems ridiculous.

    Personally, I think Chetan Bhagat’s success as a writer was just meant to be temporary, especially after revolution 2020. Moreover, if indeed his stories are based on his true life, then I think he is an immature person himself too.

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    • In reply to Jenni

      Yeah – you can’t change a person’s entrenched mindset with words, no matter how impassioned or persuasive. Especially if you’re an outsider with no stake in the affair.

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    • In reply to Jenni

      “…male and female protagonists were both rash and immature.”
      As are a lot of young Indian men and women in real life. The average middle class twenty something in India grows up in a prudish and protective bubble that makes them emotionally very naive, impulsive and immature – well into their adulthood. I have peers my age with an irrational fear of authority (including their teachers), a very contrite sense of what it means to be ‘liberal’, very easily impressed with emotional pleas AND an 11-year-olds’ maturity towards love, sex and relationships. They make a European high school kids look like Frederic Nietzsche.
       
      The book might seem very juvenile if you are used to people who function on a much higher cognitive plane; but having dated Indian women AND having a varied insight in how a lot of Indians think, I can see the shallowness outlined in the book totally panning out in real-life India. Live in this country long enough and you’ll get used to it.

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      • In reply to Akhim Lyngdoh

        OMG! I AM SOOOO LOVING THIS FORUM!
        I am sooo glad to learn that there are people who have the same opinion as I do on Indian young people. This forum is so funny yet so very real specially Akhim’s comment “They make a European high school kids look like Frederic Nietzsche”.. haha!
        I COULDN’T AGREE WITH YOU MORE! Indian youth are brought about in such a prudish manner and their families play such a strong influence upon them that they cannot think for themselves at all and they are truly naive and immature.
        I am specially impressed with Akhim Lyngdoh review and agree with him. I used to read John Grisham and Jeffery Archer when I was 17 years old and when I read Chetan Bhagat’s one night @ a call centre , I was so embarrassed of this guy. In fact, even my Eng. Lit. Professors are embarrassed of him. I used to work in a BPO and his book are the furthest from the truth regarding the BPO work. I guess he needs to work in one to understand the issues of stress and everything. But I guess that is too “low status for him”.. haha! ;)

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  4. may be u dont know that how should be a conservative family. The plot of His family and their Punjabi behavior was awesome. dude, I think u are not well versed with Delhi typical Punjabis, but I like them.

    The plot of how can he win the hearts of her family is also good. It is like a bollywood movie, but what do u think bollywood cant be real. Life is different for different people. And Life plays this to him.

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  5. I have not seen the movie, as far as i read the 2 states books. he was very much criticising madrasis. Few of the points mentioned in the book of 2 states were:
    1. “Tamil men don’t believe in pants and wear lungis even in shopping districts.”- he mentions this to tell that tamil people have no dressing sense and as though he has never seen anyone in pants in chennai.
    2. “The city is filled with film posters. The heroes’ pictures make you feel even your uncles can be movie stars. The heroes are fat, balding, have thick moustaches and the heroine next to them is a ravishing beauty. Maybe my mother had a point in saying that Tamil women have a thing for North Indian men. “ – you don’t need better statement than this, insulting tamil people, as though tamil girls are all falling for north Indian guys. If this statement is welcomed then he also criticizing tamil superstar rajini, kamal, sathyaraj, telugu stuper siranjeevi, venkatesh, Malayalam superstar mamooty, mohanlal.
    3.” Tamilian, please be precise. In fact, Tamil Brahmin, which is way different from Tamilians.I am born into the purest of pure upper caste communities ever created.” …………… Why should these lines be mentioned ? why cant he love just a madrasi girl? these lines indicate that a punjabi guy loves only girl from the upper caste of south indian society. he wanted to mention no north indian will fall for ordinary madrasi girl.
    4.” Their white teeth glistened in the night.”- he criticized the auto drivers colour which is absolutely colour racism that he has. He has also mentioned the bad word told by auto drivers as though common people of north india never knows to speak any bad words. And all of sudden sardarji came and saved this guy from auto men..chetan bhagat must have been watching shaktiman in his childhood which has influenced to him write so….
    5. “I had to supervise eight bank representatives. The bank representatives were younger, typically graduates or MBAs from non-blue-blooded institutions.” – Here mentions that mba or graduate schools in chennai were not noble and putting down that he has come to manage these poor mba guys in Chennai. Infact he insults DGV, Pachayappa, Loyola, SRM and other educational institution.
    6.He describes a girl came to ask permission for toilet and she was from Coimbatore, He describes her like “ adjusting her oversized spectacles with cockroach-coloured borders. Fashion is not a Chennai hallmark”- He is just project that people from tamil nadu are like school children.
    These above points are just sample to mention how keeps insulting madrasis, the fact he criticizes his own community some what intellectually not like in this way. In my opinion chetan bhagat is racist and biased person.

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  6. sorry guys u r wrong… first of all u urself put u on the same situation than ask.. how u acted? the boy n girl who r wd each other more than 20 hours obviously fall in love and have sex too.. and girl must think about mrg. their parents wrd abt them …it is natural… but at last they united.. hows u guys expect maturity from young people who have no exp. of life…

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