Slip into the lives of ten individuals in this stellar debut exploring class, gender, and survival in the quickly Americanizing Indian city of Hrishipur. A story of grief, family, and dreams, The Dream Builders by Oindrila Mukherjee has us excited to see what comes next.
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 everywhere: a tale of ambition, longing, and bitter loss that asks what it really costs to try and build a dream.
Oindrila Mukherjee is an associate professor of creative writing at Grand Valley State University. She grew up in Kolkata, India, and resides in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Read an Excerpt
The invitation arrived in her inbox just hours after her own arrival in Hrishipur. She was lying in bed, bruised from the long flight and slightly stunned by this return to a country she no longer recognized, a home without her mother, and the prospect of an endless summer, when the cell phone next to her lit up with the new text. As soon as she glanced at it and saw who it was from, Maneka knew she would accept. She would appear at this party, even if her reasons were all wrong. She clutched the phone in a tight grip, afraid that if she let go the text might disappear like many other things in her life. The glow of the screen was the only glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel she had inhabited these past few months. The damp and trembling cloud she had been living inside had solidified only a few hours ago, with the proverbial return of the expatriate, the return they had always warned her would be the hardest.
The moment of landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport earlier that night had been one of confusion, when she couldn’t quite tell if she was departing or arriving. This airport was nothing like the small, sedate one in Calcutta that she had used in the past. Inside the lounge, a bewildered Maneka had stared up at the wall where gleaming bronze hands twisted in various mudras of classical dance to welcome visitors to a land of ancient traditions. But just beyond the lobby, the luxurious duty-free shop made her feel like she was in an airport in another country, somewhere in the Western world, somewhere she was just passing through. She had lingered for a while among the bottles of Scotch and cartons of expensive cigarettes before forcing herself to walk to the entrance and confront the sight of her father standing alone. His solitary figure looked unmoored without her mother’s next to it. His hair had turned completely white since she had last seen him six years ago and he had acquired rolls of fat everywhere—under his chin, around his waist, over his previously slim shoulders. Her once handsome, athletic father looked old, almost as if he were someone else’s father. Her throat had ached as she tried to smile for him. Six years was a long time to stay away from your country. Long enough to lose one parent and become a stranger to the other.
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