The Hope Factory: A Novel
Anand Murthy is a driven young man who, despite his birth into the scholarly Brahmin caste of Bangalore, makes a name for himself as an entrepreneur in the field of automotive engineering. When his small factory begins to attract international contracts, Anand needs to acquire land. One of his servants, Kamala, is also in need of space, namely, a place where her son can grow into manhood without bad influences. Anand and Kamala narrate Sankaran’s masterful novel in turns, each aware of the other’s trials through the master-servant relationship they share. Though they exist in separate economic and social spheres, they are linked by the common threads of optimism and hard work. The different information each narrator is privy to enables the reader to see the middle ground between them, a device that creates irresistible tension and makes this novel impossible to put down. Within this compelling tale, Sankaran addresses government corruption in India, and the balance that must be struck between new industry and the traditions of the past in a culture where both are essential for survival. --Amber Peckham