Book Review-"Resident Dormitus" by Vikas Rathi

When I came across, “Resident Dormitus” by Vikas Rathi in the Blogadda Book Review program, I thought to myself, “Well, here’s a book on male bonding, maybe it will give me an insight into men’s mentality”. But hell, what do guys do when they become roomies- drink, smoke weed and discuss sex. Huh? I thought that’s what they did always :D

If I had to summarize this book in a couple of words, then it would have to be-‘it’s different’. Its cliché but so true for this book. The book has a lot of philosophical ramblings by individual characters and in the beginning it can bore you and get on your nerves. But if you get past the first 50 pages of the book, then damn, this book can get you hooked.

The book starts off with 3 friends-Achet, Alex and Arjuna discussing about their dead friend, Dev. In the course of events, we come to know that somehow Achet is responsible for Dev’s demise and the entire story unfolds in flashback. Achet is a small town guy from Jaipur and when he lands a job in a corporate, he’s neither happy nor sad about it. But that’s how he lives his life, with a childlike nonchalance, with no professional ethics. He is introduced to Dev, who wants to prove himself to the world. Dev’s main goal is to be settled in life and for that he strives to be confirmed in his current job. Alex is a person who has a very structured attitude to life and believes in facing his problems at some point of his life. He’s the only sane member of the group who keeps his wits around when the other guys are drinking themselves silly and smoking pot. The last member of the foursome is Arjuna, whose ultimate aim is to fight for the Tamilians in SriLanka, because his family had been a victim in the riots against the Tamilians in SriLanka. His focus is to join the LTTE and fight the crusade for Tamilians. Although the four guys are as different as individuals can be, they forge a bond of friendship. Along with Bala, a girl from their own company, they become the inseparables. Each of them face their own demons and struggle to find their happiness in life.

As I said earlier, the book has a lot of philosophical ramblings on love, life, and their aims in life. But I loved the conversation that happens between Achet, Bala and Suraj (Bala’s Boss) where Achet provides his view on promiscuity.

The characters are well etched out, but it mostly concentrates on Achet. I don’t know if Achet’s character can be defined as cool, or extremely stupid. Maybe both, for example when he gets his first project to create a spreadsheet model, he outsources this job and gets this done for 500$. How cool is that, wish I could do the same for my work :)

Also, I liked the metaphors used throughout the book. For example, when Achet arrives late and unshaven for his first training programme and is admonished by the trainer, he compares himself to an ugly hooker who was late for a prepaid fuck. Now that’s original :)

My verdict- Pick up this book if you don’t mind some deep thinking and serious discussions thrown in your read. I liked (not loved, mind it) this book.

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!