REVIEW - 400 DAYS

The title of the book is 400 days. ‘ Chetan Bhagat’ is the

author . It is his tenth novel and thirteenth book. It was
published on 8 Oct ,2021 by Westland Seatle. It consists
of approximately 352 pages. ISBN for this book is
9781542094085. This book is a contemporary fiction
containing fifty chapters. This book is third story from
Keshav-Sourabh series after “The Girl in Room 105” and
“One Arranged Murder” . It is written in casual,off-hand
writing style that is beginner-friendly and most readable.
Its cover is designed by Rachita Rakyan. The artwork of
the book was accomplished by Advik Rakyan.
Keshav and Sourabh are amateur
detectives who run a part-time detective agency . While
Sourabh is employed in a computer security company,
Keshav is preparing for UPSC exams. There isn’t much
happening in both their lives. But all that changes upon
the entry of Alia Arora , who is Keshav’s neighbor and an
ex- model . She has hazel green eyes and luscious brown
curls . Though Keshav simply can’t take his eyes off her
face , she comes to Keshav with a high-profile case .
Alia’s daughter ,Siya was thirteen years old . She was
kidnapped 9 years ago . The Aroras and the police tried
their level best to find Siya but they couldn’t . Weeks and
weeks passed on and the police decided to file the case
cold and even the Aroras gave up hope , except for one
person,her mother Alia, who never stopped looking and
now approached Keshav for help.
400 Days promises to weave an
interesting story about relationships ,infidelity ,friendship
and motherhood. Its plot is simple , unidimensional and
entertaining with a decent base. In my point of
view ,however, the writing is not as intense and gripping
as it should have been . It is more a classic drama than a
thriller. The feeling of threat ,a main feature of a thriller,
is missing . The writing and the characters are unable to
generate a scary feeling amongst readers , regarding
what would follow . The book is about investigation case
that promises it to be a thriller and mystery, it lacks the
level of thrill that a reader would expect .
The story delivers a wholesome
package of romance, comedy and family drama .This
book is contributed by the author to his mother and all
other mothers of world. This book ,however, makes no
unique contribution to the knowledge and wisdom of
reader. It provides no new and better way to present
different materials . It is much like the other recent books
by the author . It resembles with all other thriller
bollywood movies .
It manages a vibe in mind to read it
continuously. Final chapter fifty was something more real
than a fiction a fiction. The ah-ha moment of the story is
the twist from Taco-bell meeting point. The writing
makes good use of sarcasm and humour. This is the part I
have enjoyed the most, where comic elements lent the
book a light hearted vibe. This book reminds me of
“Seven Days by Alex Lake” that came with a generous
amount of mystery and thrill. This book can be picked by
Chetan Bhagat fans,who have previously enjoyed his
works, by beginner level readers and for the purpose of
packaged entertainment .
The characters of the story are not so
appealing . Apart from Keshav and Sourabh , there is no
one else who leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
Though Alia gained a lot of attention and importance but
still her character felt inadequate and shallow. The plot is
quite linear and predictable and the plot twists are not
enough to hook the reader. Also there was no need of
romance in the story. This story could not even be called
a mystery. The more importance and space is given to
drama, romance and comedy than the mystery element.
Even the climax is not so good as most part of story can
be predicted before. This book is not meant for reader
who is looking for something unique, seeking a good and
engaging mystery.
400 Days have a good description with well
described scenes and good visualizing affect. The story is
based on city, which makes it easier to imagine the
settings. The title is appropriate as Siya, who went
missing for several months, was found on 400th day.
There are two sets of Indian mom and dad, one of them
presented as Indian mother-in-law, exactly that kind.
Durga Arora seems so TV-serial evil at times that there
suspicions seem as an allegation. She runs over stray
kittens and plants cocaine on minors in her free time.
This overwrought saas - bahu dynamic at least is actually
lampshaded a few times by other characters, though, so
atleast it’s self-aware.
 Chetan shared that he saw a lot of himself
while shaping the character of young, ambitious boy who
vacillates between self - doubt and self – sufficiency.
Chetan told Nandini that while parts of him have
inevitably been instilled in all his characters, Keshav is
one character in whom he sees most of himself. “As you
grow more experienced in your writing, you learn how to
make characters which are based on you but a reader
can’t tell,” said Chetan.
The end of the story is not satisfactory. When
Siya was rescued, and the priest and the others found
guilty were caught, there is no mention of the kind of
punishment given to them. Also it seems surprising that
how a teenager like Siya, who has not yet come out of
the trauma, is able to share her experience with such
strange people and not just her family members. The
ending, therefore, was found to be boring. The book,
overall does not sparkle as it breaks no new grounds to
the readers. The thriller and mystery is not so appealing
because when we read a suspense book, we imagine the
characters as culprits but in this book I did not find much
about a small girl who got abducted instead most of book
was about Keshav and Alia Arora and their “ love story ”.
If it is a suspense book, it should be more about the
victim and his relationship with his family and his friends.
Even at the end of the story , her mother - in - law should
have come back with open arms and love and care for
both Alia and Siya and should have shown her apologies.
The readers were not at all interested in Keshav’s love
story and how it ended.
However , I feel engaged with the character of
Alia and had sympathy for her during whole story . Her
determination to find Siya is really heart – touching.
Arora family showed the state of mind of rich families.
The story starts with the life of Keshav. When Keshav
went to Kochi, I felt as if I went there, as I was so
engaged in reading it. I feel bad for Keshav and the heart
breaks he had to go through even in previous books of
this series.
The story inculcates feeling of motherly
love and educates the people to look into their children’s
lives more carefully because this is a cruel world and
there could be a hidden devil behind any smiling face.
This is the first crime novel I have ever read, but more
than a crime, it is a love story. A small portion of the
story in the beginning also reveals the struggle of the
students competing for the exams such as that of UPSC
and the fame of IITians. ‘How can this generation work
on different screens simultaneously’, Keshav wondered.
This depicts the condition of the children in modern era,
loaded with technology. The author has also made the
use of hindi language in order to make the conversations
more lively. ‘Will the world stop judging my child and
help find her?’, through this quote of Alia, the author has
tried to highlight the people’s act of judging instead of
caring, a stain at humanity.
‘Main nahi jaana kiddin koi Madrasi nu milan’
and ‘Hun sambhal ik aur billi ankh wali nu’, are the
illustrations of the use of local language, Punjabi, that
could interrupt the flow of the reader, disrupting his
interest in story as they may find it annoying to adapt to
a new, unknown language.
‘Siya Arora found.
Family priest arrested.
Girl held captive for 400 horrific days .’
This is the best moment of the story being depicted on
screen in front of sub conscious Keshav , bringing joy all
around in atmosphere.
“What about my IPS preparation?”
“What’s the point of it? Less than 0.1% chance of
selection.”
“Do your own thing.”
And this is how Keshav’s father agrees to him on the
point of choice of his career.
The heartbreak of Keshav, emphasized by the act of his
endfng up in balcony to have glimpse of Alia, is rather
symphathetic.
The friendship portrayed by the bond between
Keshav and Saurabh is an adorable part. The way they
laugh, hug, and walk to the cafe at midnight appears to
be a beautiful scene that reminds the readers of their
own close memories and all such incidents together
where they stood for one another. The come up of these
two guys, from their miserable condition, enlightens the
readers and boost their confidence as well.
 Child abduction, a planned murder and
husband-wife relationship is yet another theme of the
story, 400 days. Alia, one of the main characters of this
story, is not in good terms with her husband.
Though various recent themes were highlighted
by the writer in this book, it could not be called as a
complete success as it lacks at various points including
inappropriate ending. It provides no unique content to
the reader. Even the subplots do not comply well to the
title. The dynamic relationship of Alia with her husband
and that with her mother-in-law is brought about.
The pace of the book is found to be slow in first
few pages but smoothly it speeds up, though not nail-
biting but yet to an average pace. One of main features
of Chetan Bhagat’s writings is his way of talking about
Indian families, the relationships the people hold there,
more specifically about Punjabi families.
This story also reveals how the relationship amongst
the parents impact the child. Similar was Siya’s case, who
was negatively impacted and mentally disturbed by the
unstable relationship between her mother, Alia and her
father. Also the online activities of the children must be
supervised. This is yet an another lesson. The story is
found to be unnecessarily stretched at some points,
without adding anything positive to it. The story has been
narrated in conversational style so there are many
useless dialogues as well.
After reading the whole of this book, it could be
recommended that an adventurous reader, fond of
reading new styles and different plots must not go for it.
This book is not meant for a person who is not used to
reading Chetan Bhagat’s books. This book is a very simple
writing, with nothing new in terms of vocabulary and
writing style, that an experienced reader usually seeks.
This book is meant for the fans of Chetan Bhagat, the
author, and who read his writings usually. It is also
helpful for the beginner readers who are yet unaware of
different writing styles and find it difficult to read the
complicated words.
Chetan Bhagat is known to be a profound
writer, who composed many best-selling novels but this
story is not found to add up to his level of progress. From
such a renowned author as he is, one would expect much
better a composition. Carrying on with the same style
and plot seems boring and monotonous. It is advised for
him to compose a piece, diverting from crime, romance
and such Bollywood based themes. The best part
however, is the relatability of his writings to the present
times.