12 Years: My Messed-Up Love Story by Chetan Bhagat – An Age-Gap Romance

I finally got my hands on the viral book 12 Years: My Messed-up Love Story by Chetan Bhagat. There was quite a stir and controversy about this book and its content even before its release. I personally believe that without reading it, I have no right to comment. I must admit, these debates among book readers were the main reason I decided to pick it up.

Okay, let me stop my ranting and share my in-depth review.

I love the vibrant cover of this book. The image of a mic tying the two main leads together looks pretty and resonates well with the core of the plot. The main protagonists are Saket and Payal.

Story Hint:

Saket is a divorcee who had a bitter experience in his previous marriage. He quits his high-paying job in the USA and comes to Mumbai to focus on his passion for being a stand-up comedian. He lands a job at a comedy club( which explains the mic on the cover).

Payal the female lead, works in the private sector. They meet, and she sees a spark in Saket. They soon develop a connection. Although Saket had a difficult past, his relationship with Payal brings hope. But when he is about to meet her parents, problems arise. It’s not just because he is a divorcee, but also due to their 12-year age gap, his career, religious differences, and even differing food preferences. The story then focuses on how he tries to convince them, whether they get convinced, and what other challenges they face with its own sweet twists and turns.

My View on the Book:

This fictional story brings an old-fashioned “age gap” love story back into the spotlight. The book starts fresh and moves quickly. The comedy scenes made me feel like I was watching a live stand-up show in real or videos, as the scenes are described vividly. The romance flows smoothly and faces real challenges, mainly when parental approval becomes an issue.

 There aren’t many characters in this book which makes it neat and easy to follow. The story flows very engagingly in the first few chapters but after that I felt the consistency started to drop. This is quite a thick book close to 400 pages yet I finished it in just a couple of days. Having said that for this particular story so many pages weren’t really needed. The first half was enjoyable and moved well but when the story reached the second half it felt a little unnecessarily dragged.  

The character of Saket has been created and narrated to the utmost perfection and at times while reading it felt like he was a real person. However that magic is not seen or felt in any other characters especially Payal. The book rather gave the feeling of watching a movie and the scene descriptions felt the same. The lifestyle of the main characters in this book is quite similar to many of Chetan Bhagat’s other books and some Bollywood movies as well. There is a twist after the story passes the halfway point which was unexpected but did not impress me drastically. The female lead could have been developed with more clarity and depth.

The language is easy to read and the story flows quickly making it a fast read. This is a one-time read for me and I would rate this book 3.5 stars as it impressed me only partially.

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Book Link : @Amazon.in 

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