posted by: Prasad Shetty Jun 30 2009 @ 1:33 pm

Author: Sudhindra Mokhasi

I picked up the book at the bookstore because of the colorful front cover. The synopsis at the back was also quite catchy and helped me decide to go ahead and buy the book. I’ve finished reading the book over the weekend and was curious to see what others had to say about the book. This is what the New Indian Express had to say about the book: “This makes the book easy to handle since readers can skip from one topic to another and mix and match stories on the various facets of BPO life as they read on”.

It is a very light read and the stories are like a diary entry, because the style is simplistic throughout, sometimes bordering on juvenile. From literary as well as editorial point of view the stories could have been polished and refined some more. Some stories, like ‘Don’t like Drugs but Drugs like me’ or ‘Assessment Skills’ reinforce some clichés that exist about call centers and BPOs. But nevertheless, there are many little details, like cab drivers and customers and parties, which give glimpses of the BPO universe that outsiders may not know about.

At the first glance, it appears to be a heavy and a long book, but surprisingly, it has been split into six to seven sections with each containing a collection of stories. Interesting format! Because, I was not compelled to read the book in a particular order. I skipped through stories randomly to begin with and then read the introductions to each chapter. The stories themselves range from funny to mediocre to even a few that are a little boring. The transition is sometimes abrupt. Thankfully the stories themselves are short.

Call stories and scam stories are the two best sections of the book. The writing, while ok in most parts, lacks polish and finesse in a few places. Spelling mistakes pepper the book. The tone of the stories is conversational which works in most places but sometimes it doesn’t.

So, is the book good or not? It’s an interesting read and the effort is definitely commendable. Pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.

Publisher: Rupa Publications
Pages: 403