More than five point something

'Languaga is a virus', said junkie writer and post modern icon William S Burroughs.
In other words, he tried to say language - any language was too structured and could not
communicate the full range of emotions. And that you need to break
rules of word-building and grammar sometimes in order to drive a point home.

I suppose that's the only way to approach the new book "Five point someone"
by Chetan Bhagat. It's a semi-autobiographical tale of the writer's adventures with
his pals while studying at IIT-Delhi - one of India's elite institutions.
The writing is erratic, and there are large gaps or continuity jumps in the narrative.
But at no point are you fooled into believing it's not genuine. You can almost
hear Chetan Bhagat speaking - in that curious mix of insipid english and clever
phrases only an IIT-ian could have imbibed.

Bhagat also finds it difficult to resist the temptation to digress. At least at
two points in the book, he goes off at a tangent, and the resulting passage
does not take the narrative forwards.

But incredibly, pointing out its glaring pitfalls feels like nitpicking. The story itself is a
nice little snapshot of IIT, Delhi and people living in different strata of society. And it adds to a
still-small but growing body of Indian literature that isn't encumbered by the burden of history.
Definitely a step in the right direction.
Link - fivepointsomeone