The grass is always greener on the other side. It holds true for all of us that we find that others have more than us. Chapter Eleven is also somewhere along these lines. It is about how the protagonist or Virendra Vikram Singh aka VVS thinks that landing a corporate job will be a new beginning. It would be the answer to all his issues and he can finally be like all the other corporate people.
Chapter Eleven talks about his life in detail. The book is written in third person so you see the incidents happen from the perception of everyone, especially VVS. The story line is like a corporate movie, there is a naïve hero, there are temptations for him to fall for and there is his redemption.
In all this Amit Shankar ask some difficult questions in lieu of corporate bankruptcy. Are you we getting bankrupt in terms of values and moral? Are we all becoming greedy monsters instead of human beings? Is money answer to every question even the personal ones and most importantly is life about reaching the top no matter how many people are stamped in the path?
These questions are left in my mind as I finished the book and much more. I delved deep inside me to look around. Was the novel about a company filing for bankruptcy or us filing for soul-degradation? It is this that makes the book an interesting read. The book has got some of the best lines I have heard and some of the incidences truly reflect the corporate culture.
It does with ease. There is no exaggeration or hyperbole in the novel. It is a subtle reminder of what is going wrong with the society. Amit Shankar gives a novel that is hard hitting but is entertaining at the same time. The dilemma of VVS or that of that of his lady-love, it is worth the money and worth the time you spend on it.
Chapter Eleven gives you a sneak peak in the corporate world and tells you what goes beyond the board room. The narration and the way the story proceeds create a heady mixture. There is no dull moment in the book. Read it for the corporate and also for the questions and contemplation it leaves you with.
Read : 244 Days A Life
