Five Point Someone: What Not to Do at IIT

US: Rupa Publications, 2011. Paperback. Very Good. Five Point Someone: What Not To Do At IIT is Chetan Bhagat s debut novel th at presents a dark and humorous perspective on the Indian education system. Set in the premises of IIT, the story revolves around three students who b ecome friends while struggling to keep their place in this highly esteemed institute.The book doesn t tell you the ways to get into IIT or to survive it but it tells you how bad things can be if one doesn't think straight. The book talks about the monotony of the education system even at one of th e country s premier engineering institutes. It takes the reader into the li ves of these friends as they toil hard to cope with the strong competition at their college. Hari, Alok, and Ryan enter this institute with a dream to beat the competition and come out successful to become the few chosen ones . However, their life becomes a chaos as they mess up their grades that too big time, Hari falls in love with Prof Cherian s daughter, and Alok and Ry an just cannot control bickering with each other. Narrated in first person mostly by Hari, Five Point Someone: What Not To Do At IIT is a dark, funny book that has struck a chord in the hearts of mill ions of readers across the nation as it sheds some light on the dull and to ugh academic life in the Indian education system. The protagonists have to deal with tough teachers, with the unending exams, and the difficult academ ic schedule. How will these three friends manage to complete their graduation in ruthless world of IIT? Will they manage to survive? Or will they be the victims of failure at the hands of mind-numbing education system? Bhagat reveals that in this.