Half Girlfriend is a young adult romance novel written in English by Indian novelist Chetan Bhagat. The novel is set in rural Bihar, New Delhi, Patna, and New York, and tells the narrative of a Bihari kid who is trying to earn the love of his life. On October 1, 2014, Rupa Publications released Bhagat's sixth novel. In addition to English, the novel has been released in Hindi and Gujarati.
The book, which is aimed at 'non-English-types,' as Chetan Bhagat described it, details the feelings and linguistic problems of a backward rural Bhojpuri-laced Hindi-speaking child from Bihar. As he enrolls at the prestigious English-medium St. Stephen's College, New Delhi, and falls in love with a 'high class English-speaking rich Delhi girl' at Modern School, New Delhi. The girl refuses to acknowledge the relationship, but she agrees to be his 'half girlfriend.'
Chetan Bhagat had this to say about it: 'Half-Girlfriend, in my opinion, is a peculiarly Indian phenomenon in which guys and girls are unsure about their relationship status. Even if a boy believes he is more than buddies with a girl, she is still not his girlfriend. As a result, I believe we require a phrase such as 'half girlfriend.' Because that is what most Indian men get.'
