The book is unputdownable till the last 10 pages. The relationship between Gopal and his father is very sensitively handled by Chetan. All of us born before 1970 will be able to identify with the main protagonist Gopal when he fails his engineering entrance but as fate would have it, he succeeds in establishing an engineering college. So the boy who could not do engineering starts issuing degrees to engineers. It is all kismat or fate. His friend who gets into BHU takes a different trajectory and becomes a jhowala journalist. The story is gripping and feels like a screenplay of a film. Probably after 3 idiots, Chetan has woken up to the value of exploiting this book and selling it to film directors.
The entire book can be read in one sitting. Probably it is just perfect for a 2.5 hour flight or a shatabdi train journey of around 3 hours.
However, allow me to caution you that the ending is very disappointing and it appears that the author was in a hurry wo wrap up the story. The way Gopal tries to get out of Arti's life will make you vomit. The book soars high but ends with a whimper. Good book but very bad handling of the ending. I would have given Chetan 5 stars but for the very badly written ending I will give him only 2 stars.