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55
A witty and delightful coming-of-age story about college life Tried to picture myself in a shady second-rate college and realized that even thinking about it was difficult. Arjun Singh is a typical South Delhi brat whose biggest worry is securing a much-coveted seat in one of the city s top colleges. But his ambitious plans come to a screeching halt when he scores a paltry 55 in English in the board exams. Unable to meet the cut-off, Arjun is forced to take admission in a neighboring second-grade college. Between grappling with his identity as a Sikh and facing repeated misfortunes in love, Arjun s only solace is his three best friends from school who have also ended up in the same dump. What will happen to his future now? Witty, naughty, and plain irreverent, 55 is a delightful, mad caper about growing up and surviving three tumultuous years in the hallowed corridors of Delhi University.
258 pages, Paperback
First published May 6, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 26, 2017
Chetan Chhatwal’s 55 is the story of Arjun Singh a rich Sikh guy living in South Delhi whose biggest concern is to secure seat most coveted college of Delhi University- St. Sebastian. His ambitious plans come to a screeching halt when he scores a paltry ’55’ in English in the board exams. Unable to meet the cut-off, Arjun is then forced to take admission in a neighboring second grade college along with his three best friends.
The story is definitely not the best thing about the book but the author has absolutely hit bull’s eye with the narration. He has successfully managed to maintain the balance between humor in the book with the characters , and the pace of the story.
You can’t really help thinking about your college life when you read this book and in case you are Delhi University graduate, I can assure you that you would be able to relate with protagonist from the first chapter itself. From the cut-off lists, the ragging, the canteen food, the filthy washrooms to the mention of this coaching center and its eccentric professor whose famous for his quirks in the mathematics department of the university, everything takes you back to those ‘good old days’.
The only problem I had with the book was....Read complete review here:
The story is definitely not the best thing about the book but the author has absolutely hit bull’s eye with the narration. He has successfully managed to maintain the balance between humor in the book with the characters , and the pace of the story.
You can’t really help thinking about your college life when you read this book and in case you are Delhi University graduate, I can assure you that you would be able to relate with protagonist from the first chapter itself. From the cut-off lists, the ragging, the canteen food, the filthy washrooms to the mention of this coaching center and its eccentric professor whose famous for his quirks in the mathematics department of the university, everything takes you back to those ‘good old days’.
The only problem I had with the book was....Read complete review here:
April 14, 2013
The book’s blurb reads: Arjun Singh is a typical South Delhi brat whose biggest worry is securing a much coveted seat in one of the city’s top colleges. But his ambitious plans come to a screeching halt when he scores a paltry `55’ in English in the board exams. Unable to meet the cut-off, Arjun is forced to take admission in a neighbouring second-grade college. Between grappling with his identity as a Sikh and facing repeated misfortunes in love, Arjun’s only solace is his three best friends from school who have also ended up in the same dump. What will happen to his future now?
The author, Chetan Chhatwal, has degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and an MBA from London Business School. He currently works as a management consultant in London.
The title of the book `55’ intrigued me. As explained in the blurb itself, it is the percentage of marks the protagonist – Arjun – scores in English in his final board exams. This score forms the pivot of the entire book; as it leads to Arjun securing admission in a shady second-rate college; the ragging that ensues; the lectures which he bunks; the relationships that he forges, etc.
The book is a coming-of-age bromance between four boys who move from school to college and finally make serious decisions as far as their careers are concerned. The book narrates the adventures of Arjun and his three best friends – Rishi, Partho and Gaurav – when they secure admission to St Augustus College of Delhi University (DU). The book takes us through the lives of any college-going kids though it does focus specifically on the lives of DU students. The lingo used is something that any DU student can identify with – travelling by the DTC buses, ‘First Div’, ‘subsis’, etc. The author paints a rather vivid and somewhat grim picture of the ragging of first-year students by the second and third-year students in the college.
The boys spend most of the three years bunking their way through college; preparing for studies by mostly attending a professor’s tuition classes and mugging up for exams only at the last instance. Like any other teenage, college-going boys, girls form the focus point of their existence. Though Arjun’s friends do not have any serious relationships, Arjun falls for an older Radha. A large part of the book is devoted to developing their interactions and how they deal with their feelings for each other.
The character of Arjun as a spoilt brat has been built up nicely. He is elitist and irreverent; he adopts an almost condescending attitude towards all the other students at his second-rate college. At home, he is being used to wait upon by a full-time maid and a driver. The aspect of his being Sikh and thus having to keep his hair long and wear a turban has also been nicely elucidated.
The book does suffer from a few grammatical errors which some more proof-reading could have avoided. However, these are few and far between and can be overlooked in the larger scheme of things.
I am going with 3/5 for this novel.
Disclaimer: I was provided a review copy by Random House India, the publishers of this book. This review first appeared on my blog www.pallosworld.blogspot.in.
The author, Chetan Chhatwal, has degrees in Mathematics, Computer Science, and an MBA from London Business School. He currently works as a management consultant in London.
The title of the book `55’ intrigued me. As explained in the blurb itself, it is the percentage of marks the protagonist – Arjun – scores in English in his final board exams. This score forms the pivot of the entire book; as it leads to Arjun securing admission in a shady second-rate college; the ragging that ensues; the lectures which he bunks; the relationships that he forges, etc.
The book is a coming-of-age bromance between four boys who move from school to college and finally make serious decisions as far as their careers are concerned. The book narrates the adventures of Arjun and his three best friends – Rishi, Partho and Gaurav – when they secure admission to St Augustus College of Delhi University (DU). The book takes us through the lives of any college-going kids though it does focus specifically on the lives of DU students. The lingo used is something that any DU student can identify with – travelling by the DTC buses, ‘First Div’, ‘subsis’, etc. The author paints a rather vivid and somewhat grim picture of the ragging of first-year students by the second and third-year students in the college.
The boys spend most of the three years bunking their way through college; preparing for studies by mostly attending a professor’s tuition classes and mugging up for exams only at the last instance. Like any other teenage, college-going boys, girls form the focus point of their existence. Though Arjun’s friends do not have any serious relationships, Arjun falls for an older Radha. A large part of the book is devoted to developing their interactions and how they deal with their feelings for each other.
The character of Arjun as a spoilt brat has been built up nicely. He is elitist and irreverent; he adopts an almost condescending attitude towards all the other students at his second-rate college. At home, he is being used to wait upon by a full-time maid and a driver. The aspect of his being Sikh and thus having to keep his hair long and wear a turban has also been nicely elucidated.
The book does suffer from a few grammatical errors which some more proof-reading could have avoided. However, these are few and far between and can be overlooked in the larger scheme of things.
I am going with 3/5 for this novel.
Disclaimer: I was provided a review copy by Random House India, the publishers of this book. This review first appeared on my blog www.pallosworld.blogspot.in.
April 10, 2013
Recently I got an opportunity to read a book whose protagonist is a Sardarji. How does that sound to you? Funny, mad cap, delightful or absurd (no pun intended). Well, I grabbed the opportunity with both hands and began reading 55 – A Novel written by Chetan Chhatwal. If you are planning to read this one, I am sure, it will excite you.
55 is the story of Arjun Singh, a typical South Delhi brat who is fairly rich and enjoys a chauffeur driven car at all times. He hoped to end up in an up-town college studying economics with his up-town school friends but his fate had different plans for him. He scores a paltry 55 in his English Boards which causes ruckus and changes his life forever.
During the course of this book, Arjun builds a strong camaraderie with the trio – Rish, Pandit and Partho. This book is a mad cap narration of Arjun’s escapades with his friends and majorly, his undying love for a girl, who unfortunately is elder to him. The story takes us through Arjun’s growth as a person. What is unexpected is the climax of the novel. This book definitely leaves room for a sequel...
For the full review, visit IndiaBookStore.
55 is the story of Arjun Singh, a typical South Delhi brat who is fairly rich and enjoys a chauffeur driven car at all times. He hoped to end up in an up-town college studying economics with his up-town school friends but his fate had different plans for him. He scores a paltry 55 in his English Boards which causes ruckus and changes his life forever.
During the course of this book, Arjun builds a strong camaraderie with the trio – Rish, Pandit and Partho. This book is a mad cap narration of Arjun’s escapades with his friends and majorly, his undying love for a girl, who unfortunately is elder to him. The story takes us through Arjun’s growth as a person. What is unexpected is the climax of the novel. This book definitely leaves room for a sequel...
For the full review, visit IndiaBookStore.
May 23, 2013
Chetan Chattwal’s “55” is a story about Arjun Singh, a rich spoilt Sikh brat who goes through various transitions in his life while trying to come to terms with problems that he has to face. His main quirk is that he is very insecure about his long hair and the turban and believes that everything is going wrong with him because of the turban
Read full review here: http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/humou...
Read full review here: http://www.bookgeeks.in/entries/humou...
January 27, 2013
A quick fun recommended read. Some parts and characters are really funny and the book gets better as it progresses.
In places, it reads a lot like a screenplay.
In places, it reads a lot like a screenplay.
February 22, 2013
An entertaining and light read. The author has a great sense of humour and kept me laughing throughout. The story progresses nicely, a must read for Delhi college students
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March 31, 2013Peppy,short and interesting - sums up 55. Punjabis would relate more to it or atelast Delhites..but the language used seems very genuine not made up.Hilarious and paisa vasool. totally !!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews