In the country full of engineers stuck in the IT industry that works well to snatch every bit of pleasure and passion from your lives, The Big Switch is a story of a guy facing all this until one day, he breaks down.
John Thomas is himself working in the IT sector and The Big Switch is his first book. If your imagination runs wild, you can pretty much imagine the author penning down his own imaginative story. However, I don’t know that for sure but I have certainly read the book and here’s what I can tell you about it.
The Big Switch: Story
The Big Switch is the story of Keith, a hard-working and sincere individual who did engineering to ensure a better future for himself and his family. Keith’s hard work paid off and he got a job as a software engineer in an IT firm. That’s where the trouble begins.
He is very unhappy with his job. He has a girlfriend who is so unhappy with him that she breaks up with him, leaving him shattered and clueless. That’s when Keith decides that this career is not for him and decides to switch. What happens to Keith after that? Is he able to get out of the rat race? Is he able to follow his dream? Read The Big Switch to know more.
What I Liked About The Big Switch
Let me begin with what I really liked about this book. Written in a very simple and flowy language, it’s the book which made me flip pages, on my Kindle Paperwhite. The way the corporate life has been described is so close to reality, as my friends working in the same sector recite a similar story every time. I believe it will highly resonate with the people who are working in the same field and feeling stuck and sick of their managers.
It plays with the subjects of switching to a new career, the financial aspects of it, the difficulties faced, and the dilemma of whether to switch or not in a very well manner. I had feared the book will have some unrealistic things happening around those topics but it didn’t.
The way Keith gets inspired, the way he struggles to decide what he wants to do, the ways he starts working on it – the journey was good to follow. It was good to read the book. I was entertained. At times, I was inspired.
The Big Switch – Characters
The characters are so close to real life. Keith, in this one book, goes through all the stuff we usually go through in our lives in the 20s – anxiety to land a job, job dissatisfaction, love and heartbreaks, self-doubt, inspiration, failure, rejection, and much more.
Mathur is the typical manager which many people in IT industry talk about – selfish, partial and inefficient. It’s so entertaining to read about Mathur. He may even be my favourite character in the book if there wasn’t Ramesh.
Ramesh is the model character in the book that plays an important role in Keith’s life. He’s one of those rare people you meet in your life and get inspired from. It was good to see how he’s like.
Brijesh, Keith’s roommate and friend, is a typical roommate who hates the girlfriend and loves his best friend. He helps Keith throughout his journey and is the best friend you dream of.
Maya is the typical mean girlfriend who doesn’t deserve what she has. You truly don’t even like reading about her, so it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t really appear in the book in real, mostly. You will understand that once you read the book.
There are two more characters that appear later in the book which I really liked but I won’t talk about them as they may act as spoilers for you but hint: both are teachers, in some way. I love the way they’re. One more than the other… which one I loved more? Guess in the comments.
What I Disliked About The Big Switch
I didn’t like how the role of Keith’s family was handled. Throughout the book, you get to know that Keith is doing certain things to support his family and yet, his mother makes a 2-second appearance at the end of the book. It was not so good.
More importantly, the end was disappointing. Honestly, after a point, I could guess what was about to happen and that didn’t please me. It was rushed and I’m not sure it justifies the entire story in a perfect manner. This puts me in a total dilemma, you see.
The book had been too good but it was like it switched roads by the time it reached the climax and ending; leaving me dissatisfied.
So, what do I think of The Big Switch? Well, as far as ease of reading and flow goes, it’s a good book. It’s a light read that will resonate, especially with people working in the same field and doing a corporate job. In fact, at times it may make you chuckle and it may provide you a way out… leaving you inspired and energised. However, beware of the ending. It may change your views about the book. So, go into it if you’re looking for an entertaining, light and good read for the weekend.
My ratings: 3.8 out of 5 stars.
