Five point someone

Five point someone is a novel written by Chetan Bhagat that explains about the lives of 3 students at Indian Institute of Technology, one of the best universtities in India. Hari, Ryan and Alok are three different people from 3 different statuses. The book takes us through the perspective of Hari here, with short excerpts from his friends and his girlfriend too.

Hari is a middle class boy whose family details are not well described in the story. Alok coming from the poor status has faced a couple of difficulties before coming to IIT. And Ryan Oberoi, a rich class boy who thinks of life as a piece of cake, caring to have all the fun he wants and avoiding his parents for not being with him.

The story takes us through the life in IIT and the difficulties students have to make. Ryan and Alok have very different perspectives and this always leads them to a fight. Alok, always trying to mug everything up and Ryan, who thinks that someone should really know what they are doing are indeed different here.

The main highlight comes here when Cherian, the father of Hari's girlfriend, Neha who he meets early in the story, appears in his third year. Cherian happens to hate Hari and his friends for their low grades. Hari, while trying to love Neha and trying to manage through hs remaining years is shown later.

This story really takes you through what students in the IIT really face through. Categorised by their GPA's, their is a distinct margin of care the teachers give for high-scorers and the low-scorers. Hari, Ryan and Alok, all having a 5-point GPA are some low-scorers. Having to sit till morning for studies and notes, assignments, semesters, etc. to prepare for, their life is made a hell by the Institute. Several plans are even made to pass through these obstacles, which the story explains through.

What I like about the story:

1. The use of coloqual language to make it look more natural and to give it a feeling of college
2. Describing the mindet of the characters
3. Showing the pressures of a student clearly
4. Pointing out the mistakes of an institute clearly

Things which I don't like about the story:

1. The main characters are of top ranks as mentioned in the beginning of the story. Yet, they becoming one of the least scoring students is somewhat unbelievable.
2. Hari's details are not much explained here, for e.g.-his parents, whether he loves studies. This makes it hard to understand some parts about Hari here though he is the one narrating the story here.
3. Certain short forms are confusing, for eg. prof can be read p-r-o-f or professor. I would have liked the author to make it more clear here.

The only real mistake I find here is how people who have scored well earlier can get so low later. Take for example Ryan Oberoi who scored Rank 91, he really can't go so low later. The other mistakes are just negligible. and is just my point of view. Hari's facts being not disclosed in the story adds a layer of confusion in his biodata though after reading the story we clearly know his personality and mindset. Even after reading the story, I still don't know whether the students call their professors prof or professor😂.

So yeah, the final review. Five point someone is a book that talks about the whole IIT system and what actually students face through in thieir college life. It also briefly talks about what the actual system should be, that is based on understanding instead of by-hearting. Chetan Bhagat paints a picture of the various types of students here. A truly captivating plot I must say so, Chetan doesn't let the readers attention diverge. I really like the informality of storytelling that is used here, instead of the traditional style. It is equally interesting. The story also lays emphasis on why a person should not judge a person on their marks but on their personality and understanding, by the innovation and creativity of a student. At the end, really good book. I do not suggest children below 13 to read this though.