Review: Scammed: Confessions of a Confused Accountant
Welcome to yet another book in the ‘confessions’ series. Only this time, the title is one that will take you by surprise. Scammed is the story of Hitesh Patel and his tryst with being an accountant. For some, this book might be a good break from the usual confessions of shopaholics and teenage drama queens. However, this accountant is based in India and needless to say, this story comes with its own corrupt politicians and money-minded girls in a landscape where our protagonist is trying to find his own ground.
Hitesh starts off with a typical full-day job where he is primarily an auditor. He is pushed by his parents to marry the Dimple-Simple kinds who remind you of cows trying to speak in English. An archetypical working-class man, he suddenly finds his stairway to fame with the help of sleazy businessmen like Venugopal Reddy – those who are obviously incomplete without their political connections. He is hired by Reddy to turn the fortunes of a sunken business around and soon, he is seen attending parties instead of working overtime. His model girlfriend’s career is launched by him only to realize that it is her ambition that she cares for the most(est).
This book is amongst those that can be read in one or two sittings. It is simple to read and isn’t stretched too much. The set of characters chosen are ones that you would expect in such a story. However, it does deliver a few twists which are needed for the reader to prevent it from becoming almost predictable. Still, the characters could have used a little bit of fine-tuning. While the protagonist possesses the intellectual capability of being the CEO of a company, he is easily trapped into the web of his materialistic girlfriend. The three girls that the reader meets in the course of the narrative are extremes and this difference works well for the book as a whole.
A large segment has been devoted to various news pieces that help in furthering the plot. While this seems like a good idea, it has been grossly overdone. Anyway, what I really liked was the fact that the author has managed to maintain the essence of his characters. While Hitesh rises soon to riches, he is still grounded to where he really comes from. Middle-class sensibilities have been merged well with the way the so-called upper class behaves.
Do not keep your expectations high while reading this because it will spoil the easy read that it is. If you want to devote an afternoon to reading, this book is perfect for you. Nevertheless, I can’t understand why the author would want to keep his or her identity hidden. Any guesses on who it can be?
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About the Author: Lipi Mehta
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