Book review – Chaos Down Under

Genre – Comedy

Writer– Nishant Kaushik

Publication – Rupa

 

Style of writing

Chaos down under is a cute, one time read story. Conversational English sets the mood for an informal, relaxed reading. The story line and presentation is quite similar to Chetan Bhagat’s writing style. Overall it is a likeable story that has the potential to become a blockbuster Bollywood movie. I could actually imagine Ayushmann Khurana in the lead role of a confused, lazy and putting foot in mouth protagonist.

Characters

Characters are from real life and you can easily connect with them. Who would not relate to the bossy, conniving boss, Chirayu or the over-friendly neighbour or the subtle office romance? The story is set up in an urban corporate lifestyle where the protagonist is a simple, amiable character. You can identify with the character, Nakul (the protagonist) when he cribs about office and its screwed work –life balance or when he is being fooled by the corporate setup.

Humour and subtle satire

Nishant’s observation on corporate lifestyle and confused youth is quite good. The satire on why HR always has the best looking females is so true. Even at my office we used to gossip about the same. I really need to know, how? I actually got nostalgic about my corporate life while reading this book.

Humour derived from comparing MBA pursued from a top B-school and an average college is fun. Another thing that I found interesting is the reference to advertisements which provides for natural humour. I quite enjoyed reading those. Humour is not forced; it is natural wit that creates humour in this book, a style that I appreciate.

Critique

I think the story, characters and setup is quite simplistic. Instances have been picked from our mundane life and appropriate doses of humour added to make up a good story. Though you kind of know what to expect as elements of suspense and surprise are comparatively underplayed.
I believe a story should have a universal feel for readers from varied backgrounds to connect with. For a person not coming from a corporate background the story might not connect that well. I feel, it is here that the story falters a bit. The story is exclusively designed for urban, metro people with corporate lifestyle.
Romance angle could have been developed better. It somehow doesn’t build up or manage to leave a mark. The story builds on stereotypes – a conniving boss, a simple girlfriend, office romance, a love triangle, an over-friendly pathetic old-age neighbour – frankly I would like Nishant to experiment with breaking the stereotypes. These characters have been overused by our Bollywood movies.
And yes, I loved the book cover. It brings out the highlight element of the story. It gives you an idea of what to expect from the story and that is what I say is a good book cover. I am among those people who do judge a book by its cover.

The final word

For the readers – Go for the book if you like light, comedy, and modern stories. Carry it in your bag and read it while on move. It will definitely bring a few smiles and memories. If you enjoy reading Chetan Bhagat then you will love Nishant’s writing too! In fact, I will say you will like Nishant Kaushik’s writing better.
For the writer – Nishant Kaushik you have done a good job! By reading your book I can see glimpses of your personality – a fun loving, mast and a simple person. Humour is definitely your strength. Two areas that can be worked upon is giving depth to characters and developing on surprise elements.
This is my honest book review. Hope it of some help for readers deciding on what to read next.

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