The Dream Builders

by Oindrila Mukherjee

A Good Morning America and PureWow Best Book of January
A Goodreads Buzziest Book of the New Year
A January Indie Next Pick & Debutiful Most Anticipated Book of 2023
“A marvel.” ―Kevin Wilson

“Funny, moving, and often deliciously cynical.” ―Tiphanie Yanique
After living in the US for years, Maneka Roy returns home to India to mourn the loss of her mother and finds herself in a new world. The booming city of Hrishipur where her father now lives is nothing like the part of the country where she grew up, and the more she sees of this new, sparkling city, the more she learns that nothing―and no one―here is as it appears. Ultimately, it will take an unexpected tragic event for Maneka and those around her to finally understand just how fragile life is in this city built on aspirations.

Written from the perspectives of ten different characters, Oindrila Mukherjee’s incisive debut novel explores class divisions, gender roles, and stories of survival within a society that is constantly changing and becoming increasingly Americanized. It’s a story about India today, and people impacted by globalization a tale of ambition, longing, and bitter loss that asks what it really costs to try and build a dream.

Genres: Fiction, India, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Asia, Cultural, Family

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 2023

About the author

Oindrila Mukherjee grew up in India, and now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she teaches creative writing at Grand Valley State University. She is the author of the debut novel The Dream Builders.

Reviews

[Suz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a very different read for me. Contemporary India, a story told from 10 characters with strong themes of class, development with a western feel, poverty and a lot of discussion about high rise development called the Trump Towers. So much aspiration for the wealthy to keep up with society to buy into this development, regardless of affordability and at a cost to any happiness within the family unit.

Maneka has moved away to America and works in academia, she comes home to visit her father after having lost her mother, who in turn had lost their life savings to the underhanded developers that seem to be everywhere. She turns up to the country she grew up in, comes back into contact with old friends, trying to feel comfortable and worrying about her father.

There is a strange friendship with Ramona, who used to be one of the cool crowd in high school, this woman is miserable and the sense of fake friendship never left me. Trying to rekindle what was never there in the first place. Maneka wasn’t an overly interesting character to start with.

This is a rather depressing story, all characters were encumbered with grief and unhappiness, and the India portrayed to me was sad full of even sadder people, doing sad things while trying to reconcile with a world in the middle of trying to be like the west, starting with the Trump Towers that only seemed to engulf people in grief. Everyone was so miserable.

Those readers looking for an uplifting read should steer clear of this, and I found it difficult to hold firmly on to all the character names, but what I did hold onto was a firm dose of melancholy at a plodding pace. I probably needed to look up more phrases than I did, to capture more fully the feel, but this need was just too frequent. I didn't have a firm handle on what the story was trying to tell me, therefore my interest was lacking.

With my thanks to Marina at Scribe Publications for my copy to read and review, I learned so much about India.

[Faith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of multiple interconnected characters in Hrishipur, India. The description of the book focuses on Maneka, who has returned from the United States to visit her widowed father. However, there really is no central character in the book. Maneka was actually one of the least interesting characters to me. I didn’t care about her on again off again boyfriend in the United States or her flirtation in India. I also had little interest in Maneka’s school friend Ramona. Her story was too much like a soap opera for me. I was much more interested in Maneka’s father and how he was going to cope with the loss of his wife, his reduced economic circumstances and the local real estate debacle that permeated this book. I definitely preferred the stories of the less well-off characters and I wish that the whole book had been written about them. I have read better books exploring the class and economic differences in India. 3.5 stars rounded up for the parts of the book that I enjoyed.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

[Emily Coffee and Commentary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sharp debut about the quickly changing economic and political environment of contemporary India. From a wide array of perspectives in the rapidly industrial city of Hrisipur, we see the long-lasting effects of wealth and class disparities, gender roles, and the ramifications of an ultra-consumerist, ultra-capitalist message as encouraged by American businesses. We see the good and the bad sides of globalization, and the devastating need to conform to what is beautiful, trendy, and decadent. The Dream Builders makes an intimate portrait of the many faces of urban India, the aspirations that both propell and hold back its inhabitants, the different ways in which we place value on our lives and the lives of others. Thought-provoking and somber at its core, with many layers of complex themes and characters that are true to life.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't love this one, nor did I hate it. The main two problems I had with listening to the audio was first, this one moved so slow. It meanders. Not by any means horrible but what might have amplified that feeling was that I never felt connected to the characters in any way. It needed some detail.

I think I wanted some descriptions when it came to the characters. It felt murky and vague. It was like tiny little glimpses here and there and pretty soon I was looking at a 10 thousand piece puzzle that needed assembling. Not my favorite. So 2 stars.

[Amy (Bossy Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me.

I love a novel set in India, and the details of the sparkling promise and darker underpinnings of the city of Hrishipur were a standout in Mukherjee's debut novel of interconnected points of view, fortune, and tragedy.

Maneka Roy has temporarily returned to India after six years teaching creative writing in the American Midwest. Her mother has died, and her father and friends have moved from Calcutta to Hrishipur, a booming city full of malls and the promise that all will be newer, bigger, shinier, and better. She struggles to reconcile her past and her memories with the present, the shallow facades with the gritty underpinnings.

Mukherjee shapes The Dream Builders by telling the stories from ten different characters, interconnected but varied in class, power, wealth, experience, and hope for the future.

The building of a seven-tower Trump property in Hrishipur comes into play in various ways, as poor workers toil on the construction while other local developers fall into obscurity and those wealthy enough to invest in the venture cling to what they perceive as the promise of the height of luxury to come.

Characters shift from upstanding to suspect, from envied to emotionally wrecked, from without hope to buoyed by promise--and in some cases, their situations and fortunes are reversed yet again.

The interconnectedness was interesting. The intellectual who has spent time in the United States is unversed in the current workings of the city where her father and schoolmates live. The savvy poor work the system the only way available to them. Those who seem without hope fight and claw for a chance, while those who seem to have it all fall to pieces. Mukherjee's The Dream Builders doesn't pretend that neatly wrapped-up loose ends are always possible, and tragedies occur that affect various characters.

I felt that some of the more animated female characters sounded like caricatures and almost anime-style in the tones of their flighty exclamations and pronouncements, and I found these instances distracting.

I listened to an audiobook edition of this title, which I received courtesy of Libro.fm and Blackstone Publishing as part of the Libro.fm ALC program.

To see my full review on The Bossy Bookworm, or to find out about Bossy reviews and Greedy Reading Lists as soon as they're posted, please see The Dream Builders.

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[Sahitya · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 but maybe I can round up.

This book turned out to be nothing like I expected but I also didn’t go in with too many ideas about it. I was also excited to listen to the audiobook because Soneela is one of my favorite narrators.

I found it quite easy to get into the headspace of Menaka - whose journey to India sparks off this story - because I’ve lived in the US for almost a similar amount of time as her and share quite a few experiences in common. The awe, wonder and maybe even the skepticism she feels at a very rapidly changing India is something I’ve felt too in my recent travels and it was interesting to see that reflected in the book. We also get many other POVs in the book, each somehow tangentially related to Menaka, as well as under construction Trump Towers which somehow feel metaphorical to our lives.

The author does an interesting job giving us these various perspectives which show a reflection of the huge class divide in modern Indian society - where while the rich become more Americanized, the poor struggle just for daily survival, the middle class wants to be more and always striving to move up the strata, the politicians use existing tensions to rile up more hate and extremism - as things rapidly change, it also feels like nothing changes at all. It’s a dichotomy that feels very desi and I thought it was well depicted in the book.

Ultimately though, this is more like a slice of life story and there’s not much going on here. I also did not see that ending coming and it was a bit of a shock. So while I did feel very comfortable with the setting and themes explored, this was just an intriguing read, and maybe not something I’ll remember a lot. I’m sure Soneela’s narration definitely helped me consume it so quickly and not feel too bored with the meandering style of storytelling.

[Ming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book.

It was a solidly satisfying read. At first, it appeared as another immigrant returns to home country when her parent dies story. Then it seemed to be about a group of upper (or upper class-ish) or bougie characters. And those parts were fine and all.

But then, starting in the third chapter, the book dives into revealing the stories of a house maid, esthetician/facialist, a driver, an electrician, etc. And not only does a breadth get covered in those 12 inter-connected, multi-perspectives chapters, but a depth of emotions occurs. It's compelling and affecting. All the characters gain dimensions as they tell their own stories; and these differ from how they were initially judged by other characters (and as portrayed by the author). The read peels back layers to expose who they are or to get closer to the complicated ways they are. Maneka probably remains the most steady. I so enjoyed seeing Chaya, Gopal and Salil when they were presented more intimately. (This so reminded me of the adage that we truly do not know what people are struggling with.)

The writing is straightforward, clean and, I'd say, without embellishments. This, in contrast, makes the storycrafting shine brighter in many ways.

Now I'm feeling a sense of loss for having finished this book as it very much swept me into its stories and its overall smart, empathetic and careful portrayal of its characters.

I recommend this title readily and I will definitely look forward to Oindrila Mukherjee's future titles.

[Jeanette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love inspiration toward purpose and work. Even with aspirations as minor sides toward larger goals or role models. I thought that's what this would core. No, the moods are all wrong for that. Instead you get young to not still perpetually seeing through a glass half empty.

You couldn't connect emotively or even personality wise with these many separate characters. It did give you a somewhat larger feel for the modern India and this fictional city. BUT! Are they representative or most common? I have no idea.

Whining and whining. With always someone else's fault at base. In a book with this name?

The ratings? Because it is wide and imaginative? And the judgments assumed and accepted in subtle touches are pure circa big government 2020 plus global? Gag me.

But if you want a beginning effort, rather YA level of 1000 details and massive scope with 200 sighs per person- I guess here we go. Absolutely not Thrity Umigar. I was hoping for some later clone, I guess. And this is nearly directly oppositional.

[Brown Girl Bookshelf]

"The Dream Builders" by Oindrila Mukherjee is an intricately crafted novel that transports the reader to the bustling streets of Hrishipur, during the construction of a Trump Tower. The construction of the hotel serves as a metaphor for the shifting political and social landscape of contemporary India, and Mukherjee explores its impact on ten interconnected characters belonging to different socio-economic backgrounds.

The novel opens with Maneka, an Indian living abroad in America, who returns to Hrisipur following the passing of her mother. Through Maneka's perspective, readers observe her struggles with reconciling her American upbringing with her Indian heritage.

Mukherjee's skillful character development is on full display as the story is told through all ten individuals’ perspectives, weaving a larger narrative while also providing detailed insights into each character's personality. The reader is taken on a journey of emotions, forming opinions of one character, only to have them completely dismantled and reformed with each new chapter.

At its heart, this is a novel about survival in India at a time when class divisions, gender roles, and American-centered globalization play a significant role in its next chapter. I deeply appreciated how Mukherjee balances commentary on India’s political issues with respect for her rich diversity, history, and fundamental resilience of its people. For anyone looking for a captivating, people-oriented journey through modern India, dive into “The Dream Builders.”

[Jordyn Roesler | Sorry, Booked Solid]

DNF’d at 50%. I really enjoyed the first chapter of this story, told from the main character’s perspective. I think I would have liked the rest of it had it continued to follow her and had more of a plot surrounding her. Instead this story follows 9 OTHER perspectives and the 4 I did read felt plotless and uninteresting to me. I wanted less gossip and drama and more emotional insight to the MC’s situation and the struggle of returning to an India she doesn’t feel like she knows. I’d highly recommend this to people who love character-driven stories, aren’t scare of 10 POVs, and want all the juicy gossip from this contemporary Indian city.

[Margaret Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

If it weren’t for the guilt I feel not finishing a book for book club this would’ve been a hard DNF on like page 6 😬😬😬

[Leah M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to libro.fm for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Although I'm typically not a fan of character-driven novels, this was an example of how they can be done perfectly. The story is told through the eyes of various inter-linked characters all revolving around a series of central events, and it was engrossing in a way that I rarely find. Many of the characters are easy to empathize with, while others are not exactly as sympathetic at first, yet when I got to see the world through their eyes, my thoughts on them changed.

It takes us on a tour of a fictional city in India as it is being gentrified and changed into a more modern metropolis, and we view the city through various lenses, from characters who are rich, poor, in-between, male, and female. In this way, we get to see the differences in gender and class that they experience, and the different social pressures that they experience, all while inhabiting the same place at the same time. In addition, one of the characters has a visible disability, so we see the attitudes towards disabled people. Finally, through Maneka's character, we also get to view a bit of her experience as an immigrant in America under Trump's presidency, as well as Trump's reach with the building of a Trump Towers building in this city in India.

Overall, this was a wonderful book, and I'm going to be looking forward of more of Mukherjee's work in the future.

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story about families, love, loss and coming home after you've been gone a long time. I found the story compelling and interesting but I think there were maybe a few too many characters for me to fully appreciate this one as an audio. It definitely became hard, at about 80%, to be sure to remember who all fit into each piece. I didn't see the story going where it did and the last 20% or was a race. I'd figured out a few pieces but not all that was going to go down. Captivating but a bit confusing at times. I enjoyed this one.

[Cari Zuckerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel begins with Maneka returning to India for the first time after living many years in the U.S. She lands in the fictional city of Hrishipur, where her mother and father moved for the promise of a new life in a beautiful new apartment complex that never came to fruition, taking with it their life savings. With her mother now deceased, Maneka struggles to come to terms with how much India has changed. What follows are vignettes from nine other characters living in Hrishipur, showing the experiences of people from different classes and backgrounds in modern India.

I love the narrative vehicle of showing many characters, all loosely related to one another, converging around a common theme or event. The whole book takes place over the summer that Maneka spends in Hrishipur and features diverse characters from Ramona, a wealthy woman who went to school with Maneka, to Maneka’s father’s maid, Chaya, to the masseuse, Pinky, at a parlor Romana and Maneka visit.

The novel is character-based and despite much in the way of plot is masterfully executed. I read it quickly in just a few days, found myself interested in all ten characters, each of whom received just the right amount of time and attention before moving on to the next. I loved the setting of a fictional city meant to represent modern India full of dreamers and schemers, corruption and hope. I would have been happy to spend more time in Hrishipur with any one of these characters.

This is a sparkling debut that I greatly enjoyed. I recommend it for fellow fans of Thrity Umrigar and look forward to future work by Oindrila Mukherjee.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tin House for the e-galley.

[Sophie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was reading another book that took place in India at the same time as I was reading this book. The other book was a historical fiction while this book took place in more modern times which presented quite a contrasting vision of the country.

An interesting array of characters, each with flaws and demons as they strive in an India that is roaring into the modern world of wealth and opulence yet leaving behind an underclass of people who came from remote villages to work in service jobs. Each chapter focused on a different character’s point of view. I found the main character Maneka Roy to be the least interesting. She comes to visit her father after the death of her mother. I was not exactly clear why she had stayed away until her mother was gone. Her parents have lost their life savings in the hopes of moving into one of the apartment towers that was supposed to be built but never was. This is the situation for many folks when the city went into a real estate bust. That is except for the American built tower going up.

My initial impression was that this was a different view of modern India. But eventually, it revealed the stories of the “have nots” the servants, the drivers, the spa workers, and people who came from poor villages to make their living.

I liked the way the author built the tension in each chapter toward something explosive.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very satisfying read. Set in India, a lot of layers on cultural identity/belonging, class, and family obligation. Chapters from different character perspectives all combine together beautifully at the end, simple and insightful writing style.

[Gauri Nguyen]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an Advanced Reader's copy of this book! I loved being able to read about the glittering city that perfectly captures humanity that is Hrishipur. Mukherjee did an amazing job building and crafting this fictional city (and honestly, I couldn't believe it was fictional). It was perfect for the time and the setting. I wish I could have gotten to know the characters better, though. Because the story was capturing the timelines of multiple different characters, I struggled to really connect with any one of them. I think it would have been great to simply focus on Maneka, Ramona, and Salil, and leave at that. This will be far from Mukherjee's best work and I'm excited to see what Mukherjee comes out with next.

[Lorin (paperbackbish) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten different characters walk the reader through life in the fictional Indian city of Hrishipur, a high-tech megacity that promises hope and dreams, often without actual fulfillment. We open with Maneka, who is visiting for the first time after living in American for several years. Her mother has recently passed, and in addition to spending time with her father, she also meets up with old acquaintances. Ramona, an old schoolmate, is our next POV, and we are thrust onward in a similar fashion through a web on ten interconnected characters.

I'll be honest, I didn't expect this book to be quite so bleak. At first, I was a bit piqued with the author. The way she has written this story makes it difficult to connect with the characters, as we cycle through so many of them for so brief a span. Having now finished the book, I am thankful to her, because I think it would have been truly depressing if I had felt a strong emotional connection to these individuals!

I found the fictional "dream" city to be a compelling concept, and the ever-present class distinctions in India are always interesting for me to read about from the perspectives of the people. The rising action of this book is so distressing to watch happen, like barreling toward a brick wall with cut brake lines. THAT BEING SAID, it was quite a ride! And I definitely recommend it as a unique read.

Thank you to Oindrila Mukherjee, Tin House, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

[Indira · Rating 2 out of 5]

A novel about a women, who lost her mother prematurely, who lives abroad in America in the heartland at the beginning of the Trump presidency. What a fraught context this novel places us into! However, this is misleading.

What a disappointment, a novel with many intertwined characters and their varing subjectivities features here to provide a little windows into the many lives, and stations of people populating this urban enclave, but what does it provide to the greater plot, to even each, any deeper characterizations?

At the centre we have a very frustrating character in Maneka. A women who at outset of the novel constantly is remembering her late mother as angry, violent in her moods, and is constantly self loathing in remembrance of her teenage self in comparison with a school acquaintance Ramona.

I dislike the shortcuts in characterization, established early in the beginning of the novel, and it never self corrects. Maneka is scripted to be so shallow, her concerns lacking in self awareness, yet we hear her first person narration blather on and on without real growth. Then the author sticks onto her arc, a flirtation with some guy, just to fill in the plot. (Yes, yes another aching pathetic gesture to her obsession with Ramona, as Ramona has also had an affair with same person) Her relationship with her surviving parent, the one she Maneka indicates to be the more close, emotional one, her father is rendered more shallow! Everything in this novel is shallow, listless and meandering.

This novel wishes to acknowledge class, stratification in the most cliche manners and provides nothing new. A real disappointment.

[andshe.reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This debut novel isn't like anything I've read before. It's entirely character driven with no single main characters. It's told by 10 individuals from India who are from different societal and economic classes. However, all 10 are connected to each other, so this helps the story flow.

The story shows us what impact America is having on the growth and development of Hrishipur, which isn't necessarily a positive outcome. We read about the politics of wealth and power and the effect it has on each character.

I found it difficult to invest in each character. However, I was totally invested in the story itself as I read between the lines and pieced it altogether.

I really enjoyed how the author bought India to life for me with such descriptive writing, and it definitely left me with many feelings and thoughts that will stay with me.

[Shruti morethanmylupus · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up

I enjoyed this novel. So many different perspectives on how American industry and culture can affect Indian culture and Indian-owned businesses. I appreciated the range of societal tiers and lifestyles. The ending felt a bit abrupt and I would have liked to understand the impact of what happened on everyone better. If you liked Age of Vice you may enjoy this one.

[Sylvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is told in the voices of both the wealthy and the poor in a fictional city in India. Centering on a woman returning home from America for the first time after her mother has died. She is taken under the wing of a beautiful girl who she went to school with and who never was her friend before. The characters who narrate are all related to each other in various ways. The book points out class differences, the push to attain wealth and the desire to survive on the part of the people who serve the wealthy. I thought it was both entertaining and filled with meaning.

[Tammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars!!

I really enjoyed this debut, character-driven novel. It's written from the perspective of 10 characters from India. The main character, Maneka, is living in the United States - based on the description and the author's current home it sounded very much like the western part of lower Michigan (an area I know well). Maneka's mother dies so she travels back to India, where she grew up, to be with her father for the summer while she's on break from teaching. She finds so much has changed since she left. We learn of what life is like in a modern day city in India told from our main character and the perspectives of the nine other characters.

The differences between various classes of people and gender is a theme throughout. In addition, the story shows how America is perceived in India and the impact of globalization. The story takes place in the fictional city of Hrishipur, which in of itself is a character. Hovering over the city, a luxury, high-end new development is being built, Trump Towers. Each of the characters lives are impacted by this.

I thought the author did a fabulous job of connecting all the characters together. I loved how she ended this story. Anytime I end a book and am thinking about the characters afterwards, it's a good read!

[Michaela Remtulla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty enjoyable story, though a little slow and meandering at times. It is told from the perspective of several, interconnected people (10?) and I think this helps move it along, though it could get a bit confusing at times keeping all the characters straight. The synopsis makes it seem like Maneka is a central character but it doesn’t really read that way and she’s one of the least interesting characters, IMO. The story illustrates, through the various points of view, the huge differences in class and wealth in modern Indian society; the potential negatives to the growth and development of a city. The characters’ lives are intertwined and explore the idea that we can each play the role of hero and villain, depending on whose story is being told. It explores envy and jealousy; the idea that rich and beautiful people have “perfect” lives. It makes you think about the influence of American culture on other countries and also the fact that we never really know what other people are going through based on our superficial knowledge of their lives.
A good, thought-provoking book.

[M Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 3.5 rounded up. Great coming of age (a little late) story that combines grief, cultural differences and the struggles to find oneself in the midst of reminders of your past self. I appreciated learning more about Indian culture and customs while being reminded that essentially we're all human and struggling to find our place.

Thanks to Librofm and Blackstone Audio for this complimentary audiobook. My thoughts are my own.

[Mary Ellen Barringer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book. After reading The Convent of Water, I was excited to read another book about India. I am disappointed.

The plot is told from the points of view of ten different characters. This writing technique did not work for me.

The characterized did not engage me. The plot was predictable.

I do not recommend it.

[Kimberly Orr · Rating 3 out of 5]

#iprompt complete! What a beautifully structured novel. Although it was hard to follow at times, the ending was well worth it. 3.5 stars.

[Vonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Set in India, multiple POV, addictive stories, well written. Excellent debut.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Copy provided by publisher]

READ IF YOU LIKE...
• Multiple perspectives
• Exploring western influence
• Slow burns

I THOUGHT IT WAS...
A well-written glimpse at a rapidly modernizing India, told through the perspective of a full cast of characters. Maneka returns to India for a three-month summer after the passing of her mother. She reconnects with an acquaintance from her childhood, through which we meet a group of different individuals striving and surviving in the city of Hrishipur.

One would think that for a book focused on different characters' perspectives, the characters would be where it's strongest. But I actually didn't think so. What stood out to me was the collective picture of Hrishipur that these characters gave me, this city under constant construction but with no clear idea of who it's constructing for. I could even argue that buildings are one of the most compelling characters in this novel -- they represent the hopes and dreams of the people who buy future homes in them, but they're also the source of heartbreak and ruin when the projects fall through.

The construction of a set of residential Trump towers is an especially important set piece in this novel and I love how they interact with and affect each character. They're a commentary on what's lost and gained from modernization, and example of how we fixate on the future to combat our fear of falling short. The glow of the construction sign is this book's version of Gatsby's green light. While the book's characters vary in authenticity, depth, and memorableness, the glow of construction will indelibly remain in your mind's eye.

[Mallory (onmalsshelf) Bartel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interconnected character POVs following ten character centered on the return of Maneka Roy to Hrishipur to visit her father after her mother passed away.