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162nd out of 375 books
—
882 voters
Keep off the Grass
by
Karan Bajaj
What do you do when you are a twenty-five-year-old Yale graduate making half-a-million dollars a year as a hotshot investment banker on Wall Street?
You bust your ass and become a millionaire by thirty, of course.
Not if you are Samrat Ratan, born in the USA to immigrant Indian parents; you quit and enrol in business school in India instead.
Samrat's rollercoaster journey beg...more
You bust your ass and become a millionaire by thirty, of course.
Not if you are Samrat Ratan, born in the USA to immigrant Indian parents; you quit and enrol in business school in India instead.
Samrat's rollercoaster journey beg...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
May 2008
by HarperCollin Publishers India
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I loved this book. Its quite well written. A line about books, from the book itself, describes the content the best - "someone, somewhere thinks exactly like you - and articulates it better". In terms of style, the prose flows well and easy to read. I think Karan has done a great job in his first book.
I loved the book also because Karan has based several of the characters in the book on the real people who were our classmates at IIM B. In fact, the name of one of them is not even disguised! Also...more
I loved the book also because Karan has based several of the characters in the book on the real people who were our classmates at IIM B. In fact, the name of one of them is not even disguised! Also...more
First of all, I first read Johnny Gone Down by this author... It was a very exciting roller coaster ride... The life at its best... So I took interest in this author and came across this book..
Actually, this book was not as interesting (for me) as the first one.. But still I have seen people rating this book more than the others... Maybe I not the usual kind.. I like JGD more than this one...
The plot:-
This is the story of a guy born to immigrant Indian parents, Samrat Ratan (the lead character),...more
Actually, this book was not as interesting (for me) as the first one.. But still I have seen people rating this book more than the others... Maybe I not the usual kind.. I like JGD more than this one...
The plot:-
This is the story of a guy born to immigrant Indian parents, Samrat Ratan (the lead character),...more
Karan Bajaj's debut novel reminds me a lot of Chetan Bhagat's first work, perhaps because of the similarity in milieu- IIT and IIM. Karan Bajaj is an IIM alumnus, and so this does seem a bit autobiographical. Well, even if its not, its definitely introspective, and is at its root, a person's search for himself.
Samrat Ratan is the protagonist, who takes a break from his hotshot investment banking life on Wall Street, and gets into IIM-Bangalore. Its an interesting book, if not spectacular, and i...more
Samrat Ratan is the protagonist, who takes a break from his hotshot investment banking life on Wall Street, and gets into IIM-Bangalore. Its an interesting book, if not spectacular, and i...more
This could easily be the best Indian young adult book in the recent years. Not that this genre is terribly competitive, except for Chetan Bhagat who regularly churns out some variation of "geeky kid-beautiful girl- unprotected sex" crap. And then there is a group wannabe writers mostly from the IITs and the IIMs, who think their life story is so interesting that grammatical errors and terrible language skills ( shitloads of spelling mistakes in a published book; kill me now, please). Times like...more
1 like · like · see review
The thinking man's chetan bhagat is what some call the author. I totally agree.
Definitely more hard-thought-inducing than Chetan Bhagat and for me, certainly more entertaining.Some anecdotes in the movie, '3 idiots' (at least the more 'filmy' parts) seem to be taken from this one rather than Chetan Bhagat's 'five point someone'. But well! Thats just my opinion.
Anyway, a darker , a mroe satirical take on elite campus life as compared to many other contemporary,similar and concomitant works by ivy...more
Definitely more hard-thought-inducing than Chetan Bhagat and for me, certainly more entertaining.Some anecdotes in the movie, '3 idiots' (at least the more 'filmy' parts) seem to be taken from this one rather than Chetan Bhagat's 'five point someone'. But well! Thats just my opinion.
Anyway, a darker , a mroe satirical take on elite campus life as compared to many other contemporary,similar and concomitant works by ivy...more
KEEP OFF THE GRASS is a book with very good insights of Contemporary India, indian attitudes and business school
the book was a fine read, a Second generation American travelling to India and finding his roots.
the book had many good philosophies and valuable insights. It is a nice beginner of India and its culture to a foriegner, I am sure.
the only thing negative about the book is that the protogonist turns into a drug addict and there is no single mention of any regrets about that and throughout...more
the book was a fine read, a Second generation American travelling to India and finding his roots.
the book had many good philosophies and valuable insights. It is a nice beginner of India and its culture to a foriegner, I am sure.
the only thing negative about the book is that the protogonist turns into a drug addict and there is no single mention of any regrets about that and throughout...more
The author talks about Marijuana, Ganja, smoking,drinking and many other dark stuff. When there are higher stakes, bigger goals to be achieved, bigger games to be played, people tend to go to extreme ends. But,the thing which surpasses is the way he explained how simple things can change our understanding of life.
Karan Bajaj, has to be applauded for this dark, yet simple story, about how a person who has everything and yet had nothing, comes to India for soul searching( just because a Indian Ca...more
Karan Bajaj, has to be applauded for this dark, yet simple story, about how a person who has everything and yet had nothing, comes to India for soul searching( just because a Indian Ca...more
I assumed this would be another campus novel, peppered with stories of the rigours of life at a top B-school, placements and the inner machinations of the ratrace. Instead I was pleasantly surprised to find that the campus was no more than an incidental backdrop for a coming-of-age story. There was a blurred, shifting view of things around (and not just because of the intoxication) that seemed more real, somehow easier to relate to, than an 'all ends well' story. 'Keep off the grass' was a worth...more
What an ending felt awesomeee..really had a impact on me, though i hardly understood the courses at IIM. Though bored little at sometimes but worth reading may be one more time if you are interested in B schools.I was just attracted to some sentences like...
"In life there is only one take. Bas ek take. You can't rehearse the scene, retake if you screw up or edit it afterwards. One take is all you have."
I particularly liked few parts of the book..and some of the best things i have read so far....more
"In life there is only one take. Bas ek take. You can't rehearse the scene, retake if you screw up or edit it afterwards. One take is all you have."
I particularly liked few parts of the book..and some of the best things i have read so far....more
I loved the book, its been a long time since I read something so good. I like his writing style very conversational, the book doesnt drag on its just enough! It's a book that looks at identity, without the stupid new-age crap most writers talk about. Its a normal young person just trying to figure out who is, in a normal setting, that we can all relate to!
3 likes · like · see review
Went back to reading Karan Bajaj's first after I read his second book, the astoundingly taut Johnny Gone Down. Am disappointed, but my expectations of debut novels are anyway fairly low. I see Keep Off the Grass as writing practise for Johnny Gone Down.
Samrat is an NRI who chucks his job on Wall Street to join IIM-B. At one level, he grapples with the fact that none of his work experience helps in getting good grades. On the other hand, there's this whole ABCD(American Born Confused Desi)-ness t...more
Samrat is an NRI who chucks his job on Wall Street to join IIM-B. At one level, he grapples with the fact that none of his work experience helps in getting good grades. On the other hand, there's this whole ABCD(American Born Confused Desi)-ness t...more
What Chetan Bhagat did to IIT's is what Bajaj did to IIM's. But well I must give credit to Karan for writing it better than Chetan Bhagat. I enjoyed reading the book but unfortunately I can't rate it very highly. In this category of dark humour books English August stands out like none other(its freakin awesome)
This is the best novel written by a young Indian author. No one has ever captured the real mind and heart of a youth who is totally clueless about his life. You like the novel right from the title "Keep off the grass". The title tells you that you better dont leave it until you finish.
I wont give the spoilers here.
I wont give the spoilers here.
Its my second Karan Bajaj read. i read Johnny gone down before this and I liked it very much. Though this was less adventurous than JGD but a bit more close to reality. Definitely worth reading. Book was amazingly interesting for say 150 pages but than gone down...and then ended with a little rise.
One of the better written books about life in IIM Bangalore. The story builds is refreshing and so is the narration. The best part about this book is that it does not confine itself to one single theme/background. It moves from New York to IIM-B to Dharamshala seamlessly. Good Read!
Keep of the grass is a book on a guy who had a lot of grass. Got sloshed in college. Got sloshed at work. And finally woke up. A light read. Not different from so many light reads that are popping up on the Indian scene. Id rather say go read something better.
Throw in a prestigious Indian school (IIT/IIM), underplay the overachievers with a regular kid who eventually commits suicide, add some dope and we have the perfect recipe for yet another book in the same genre.
The philosophical nuggets were refreshing though!
The philosophical nuggets were refreshing though!
An extremely lame attempt at Holden caulfield meets 3 idiots meets are you experienced. NRI banker, goes to IIM to do a bit of soul searching, finds friends, does drugs, spurns success. Nonsense. predictable, bland writing.
read it after "johnny gone down". I liked johnny better than this one. Good pace, thought some ideas came from "five point someone", one time read, some inspirational messages, i liked the ending.
I loved this one... The kasauli bit and the Banaras parts were very interesting. Being a Bangalorean I could identify a bit so was excited...
I liked the storyline of this book where the protagonist leaves all his possessions for the sake of his dream. Dream can be anything, not necessarily earning loads of money or reaching the peaks.
Though the narration is really appreciable for a beginner author, too many twists in the story may seem awkward.
Though the narration is really appreciable for a beginner author, too many twists in the story may seem awkward.
It was a different read comparative to CB but compared to FPS this is a little weird in proceedings. WIll be reading his second book soon.
What an ordinary book. I mean it talks about the life on campus. The book sounded very cliche to say the least.
1 like · like · see review
Found nothing spectacular or different abut the college life which almost all the books have in common. Humor is wise.
I don't know how many times am I gonna write this, but now this is the heights. A book on IIM. Need I say more?
Awesome .... the humour is good , the comedy plot is something which any college student can relate to
Its a good read about a guy from wall-street who joins IIM to find his roots back in INDIA.Quite hilarious ..
Intriguing, funny, and good perspective of how to approach one's life and purposes embedded within it!!!!!!!!
Chetan Bhagat meets Upamanyu Chatterjee but enjoyable and easy read , not really original though.
The book is well written and captures the essence of Indian education system.. fast paced and entertaining.
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Karan Bajaj is the author of Keep off the Grass, which has been on bestseller lists in India since its release in 2008. The book was a semi-finalist for the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and shortlisted for the Indiaplaza Golden Quill Award, among other honors. Johnny Gone Down is his second novel.
Born in 1979 into an Army family, Karan is an engineering graduate from BIT Ranchi and an MBA from...more
More about Karan Bajaj...
Born in 1979 into an Army family, Karan is an engineering graduate from BIT Ranchi and an MBA from...more
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Apr 22, 2012 02:55am