Lavanya SankaranReviews

This is an interesting novel about two Indian families tied together through circumstance. It took me a while but once I had read about 100 pages, I was hooked.
Good read.

The Hope Factory chronicles the lives of Anand, a wealthy factory owner and Kamala, a poor maid who works in Anand’s household. The difference between the classes in Bangalore is striking. Kamala lives in a one room building without electricity or running water. She thinks that the fact that American housekeepers live in multiple room houses and even have cars is a myth. She desperately wants her son Narayan to stay in school and off the streets so he can have a better life than her.

I love books about India and Indian culture. This book was a reality check about the wide income disparity and heartbreaking poverty that exists in the country. The lives of both main characters were not romanticized. The characters had depth and even though they all had flaws I was able to empathize with most of them. The situations they were in had my stomach in knots – especially Anand trying to get more land to expand his factory. It’s a sign of great writing when it evokes such an emotional response in me. Even if you’re not as intrigued by all things Indian like me I think you will enjoy this book.

I received this book for free as a Goodreads First Reads giveaway. I've been losing pace in my reading, so unfortunately I'm just finishing it.

I say "unfortunately," because this is a lovely book. It took me about 100 pages to really learn all the characters and feel connected, but I have flown through the last half. I just couldn't put it down. I wish I'd opened it up the day I got it.

The Hope Factory is the first novel by Lavanya Sankaran. She has published a work of short stores, along with pieces for many American and international publications. In reflecting, it seems this book even passes the Bechdel Test, though I should take more notes and drink less wine when I read so I could give examples.

It is set in Bangalore, India, and it follows several characters facing the obstacles of daily life and the occasional life crises that fewer of us face. Once the tension picked up after the characters were developed and their relationships established, I found myself racing through the pages, praying for a happy ending. (It's called The Hope Factory! It has to end well!) It's truly a remarkable first novel, and I would recommend it. I'm looking forward to Sankaran's next release already!

This book describes two very different lives in a parallel existence. A servant, extremely poor, single, with a child to care for: and a young, successful factory owner who outwardly has a perfect life, with a lovely wife, home and children. Under this picture, is a woman who has the will but not the means or education to rise above her lowly station, and a man with an empty marriage, an attraction to another woman and a large sense of right and wrong which makes operating in a corruption-filled political and business environment extremely difficult. Add to this a overbearing in-law and an uncontrolled temper and you have an interesting story. Although I felt many of these issues were not well resolved at the end of the somewhat overly long book, it still was a good book.½

Afraid I just couldn't get into it enough to properly review.½

My review is probably stunted somewhat by my expectations as a "Western" reader who has difficulty with the slow pace of books written by non-Western authors. The book is a sensitive portrayal of a factory owners family and that of one of his servants. Their lives are interconnected as both hope to better their lives linked to his business the "Hope Factory". These are the kind of characters that you truly hope will succeed and root for in the book. My problem is that the book moves at a slow pace and not a whole lot of action transpires in the 350 plus pages.

As others have noted here, [The Hope Factory] is a bit slow to get started. We're introduced to a fair number of characters in the first few pages and it took me a while to get on board the narrative train.
However, once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Sankaran does a superb job of contrasting the two intersecting lives of her main characters and the two Indias that exist side by side. This may be the best novel I've read about contemporary India, it's challenges and opportunities, it's deep rooted traditions and it's rush to be a major player in 21st century global economics. The ending feels a bit pat to me but, that's a small quibble for such an impressive debut.

Anand is a successful Bangalore factory-owner, with thoughts on expanding his business. He is also the head of a picture-perfect family. A trendy and attractive wife and two smart, well-behaved teenagers. When he begins to make the move on buying some additional land, he finds himself tangled up with some shady characters and ruthless competitors. He could suddenly lose everything.
Kamala is Anand’s family maid. A single, hard-working mother, struggling day to day, to keep her head above water and keep her teenage son educated and out of trouble. When she is given an eviction notice, with no where else to live, her situation begins to spiral out of control.
This engaging first novel, tells the story of both these individuals, dealing with life issues in modern India. The upper-middle class and the poor. It’s a Bolly Upstairs/Downstairs, told in clear, tight prose, with vivid characterizations. Recommended.

April 16, 2013: This is the evenly paced and well-told story of two citizens of the rapidly growing city of Bangalore, India: Anand, a prosperous businessman, and Kamala, his relatively impoverished housekeeper. What they both have in common is the desire to see their children be healthy and successful and the drive and willingness to sacrifice to make that happen.

Although the story was a tad slow to get started, once it took off I was thoroughly engrossed in the lives of these and other minor and major characters in the book. Although, in truth, I know little about modern-day India, this felt very authentic and realistic and I would imagine it's closer to the truth than some of the more dramatic tales being told. But this is not an "Indian" story per se as it could have taken place in nearly any city in the world with nearly any two parents. It's a story for all of us and well worth reading.

Addendum, 5 June 2013: I loaned this book to a co-worker who immigrated to the u.s. about a dozen years ago. She asked me if I understood the book and I replied that I thought I did but if she was asking that question, maybe I didn't! So we talked about how on-point and "Indianish" this book was than anything else she's read in English since she moved here.

So, if you wonder about the cultural accuracy, I quess there's an answer for you!½

The two main characters of The Hope Factory, Anand and Kamala, occupy two different versions of the same ordinary world. Anand has overcome great obstacles to become the prosperous owner of a factory. He has built a large house for his wife and children as a symbol of all he has achieved. Meanwhile, Kamala works in this grand house for Anand’s wife, but she lives in a small hut. She struggles to make ends meet, always hoping for a brighter future for her son. Despite their differences - one affluent and one poor - these two characters are more similar than first impressions would assume.

At the heart of this novel is the importance of family - specifically children. Both Anand and Kamala would do anything to keep themselves afloat to protect their children from ever having to know the same hardships they both overcame. It is a simple story, two individuals, shunned by their families, have to cope, have to survive, not only to prove themselves but to create a future for their children. And when these two characters cross paths, it is achingly poignant just how far they are willing to go.

Sankaran has written about a very specific, truly small world that easily transcends its own boundaries. What starts out as a story of a small town becoming a city in India quickly becomes so much more as Sankaran weaves her characters intricately together in The Hope Factory.

While not the best novel I've read on modern India, this book does have the distinction of having what I feel is probably the most realistic portrayal of the problems faced by the newly developing country. It was a slow starter, but once it got going I was dragged along right to the end.

Anand and Kamala are as united as a wealthy landowner and a servant may be: each dreams of creating a big and beautiful life with their families center stage in both their dreams and their downfall. Anand's frivolous wife and her interfering father are not easily impressed with Anand's hard earned success but they are reluctant to assist when his desires for the future don't fit their own. Kamal works to present her only son with the brighter future he may be able to glimpse only from a perspective beyond hers. Sankaran handles each with care, to the relief of this reader who was willing to endure tragedy and hardship, but not devastation, to these very engaging persons.½

Against the backdrop of rapidly changing Bangalore, this novel portrays the lives of two families of disparate circumstances. The first part of the book sets up two main intersecting story lines, that of Anand, a self-made successful factory owner and Kamala, a widowed single mother, living on the brink of financial desperation . Although they are from very different backgrounds, these characters have in common a love of their children, a fierce work ethic and hopes for a better future.

The author's prose is beautifully crafted. This is a well paced book, with interleaving stories of a captivating cast of major and minor characters. I enjoyed the window into the lives of Kamala and her fellow servants and into Anand's upper class household. This is an interesting portrait of modern urban India in its richness and poverty. I would recommend this as a good read for a book club.

The Hope Factory follows two families in Bangalore, India. One rich: Anand, the owner of a growing factory, his wife, children, and extended family. One poor: Kamala, a servant in Anands household, and her son whom she hopes to secure in his studies rather than an unsavory crowd of friends.

I had a hard time getting into this book. It is very carefully told, unfolding slowly. The author takes the time to build the main characters so that you know and understand them.

I'm smitten with tales set in India. I'm besotted by convincing characters. I'm crazy about skillful prose. The Hope Factory contains everything on my literary wish list.

This is the tale of two families. Anand and his family seem to have it all. Kamala and her son live on the very edge of poverty. In reality both families are dealing with matters that could send them over the brink to ruin.

This novel is populated with corrupt politicians, shady coworkers, and unseemly friends. Anand and Kamala even have to be cautious of their own family members who don't have their best interests at heart.

At the core of The Hope Factory is the desire that Anand and Kamala have to be good parents. I was especially struck by the struggle that Kamala goes through to make sure that her son is educated and able to rise above their current station.

The desire for a better and secure future is something we can all understand. Lavanya Sankaran uses that theme to write an outstanding story.

Finally! A book about India that doesn't have to do with getting married or coming of age, or American-born-of Indian-heritage going back to India/dealing with being in the west/whatever. (That's a generalization, I know, but so many of the books I've come across run on that theme, usually with brightly colored saris or spices on the cover.)

The Hope Factory is a gently told novel that takes the time to craft characters, settings, and situations, all grounded in reality and believability. Two interwoven tales: the first is that of Anand, who simply wishes to expand his business, by expanding his factory. The second story centers on Kamala, one of the servants of Anand’s family, a single mother, subsisting on a small income, trying to carve out a world for herself and her teenage son, who seems to be running with a bad crowd.

Unfortunately for each, life can become complex and difficult. In Anand's case, politics and conflicting loyalties move in to muck up the land sale. (Having experienced India politics through family who lives there, I can attest to the good job done in the depiction.) For Kamala, the precarious balance of her world and economics is threatened by changes in her rent, and in the needs of her son.

This is a story of real people, with real needs, worries, hopes, and concerns. The characters come across as such. I found the second half of the novel moved more quickly, but that the first half needed the pace it did to set the stage and create the world. The end was a bit abrupt, but true to life. We rarely wrap episodes of our existence up into neat little packages, but they tend to slide, with hope, into the next day, the next challenge, the next phase of life. And sometimes, the next adventure.

I received this book via the Early Reviewers program of LibraryThing. Many thanks to LT and to the publishers for letting me into the Bangalore of Anand and Kamala.

I opened this book, started reading and couldn't stop. Sankaran's use of language is extraordinary. Her use of similes amazing. I love Indian fiction and this one reminds me a little of Thrity Unrigar's The Space Between Us in that both novels contrast the lives of the wealthy employer with the poor employee. Highly recommended absorbing read.

The Hope Factory by Lavanya Sankaran is a brilliantly told story of two families and their individual struggles and triumphs in modern day India. The reader meets Anand, by all standards a wealthy factory owner and his wife. On the opposite spectrum of wealth the reader meets Anand’s family’s maid Kamala, a widower, struggling to stay afloat while raising her son. Sankaran weaves together layer after layer of beautifully written, exquisitely detailed prose with unforgettable characters with real and complex issues. I would highly recommend The Hope Factory to anyone as well as to book discussion groups.

Lavanya Sankaran's remarkable debut collection rolls out the red carpet and warmly welcomes readers to the colorful city of Bangalore. The short stories are peopled by richly drawn characters from all walks of Indian life who together paint a vivid picture of Bangalore today. As expected, we have traditional mothers, intent on finding suitable marriage partners for their offspring. But we also have the offspring: invariably American-educated, modern in outlook, with aspirations of worldly success and sensual pleasures and with nary a thought of marriage. American popular culture has apparently grabbed hold of India's younger inhabitants, while the older generations are hanging onto their culture for dear life.

Sankaran is a compelling storyteller who writes with compassion and charm. She is adept at getting into the heads of her characters, revealing their hopes and fears with surprising depth, even in the short-story format. Memorable characters include the retired and gossipy Mr D'Costa, who, because his ailing wife is no longer a companion to him, seeks company from everyone else. His greatest wish is to befriend his neighbours, the hip young Mrs Kapur and her husband, who are fresh back from an extended stay in America; but his outlook and theirs are so dissimilar that they might as well be on different planets.

Another outstanding character is the impoverished Indian chauffeur in the title story who drives Mrs Chaudhary, his wealthy "may-dum", in the elegant car with the opulent furnishings and rich red carpet he adores but at whose outdated interior the stylish Mrs Chaudhary and her friend scoff. Rangappa feels absolutely privileged to be driving Mrs Chaudhary about town but is mortified by her wild Western ways; he is a "decent, respectable man" with a good job, while she wears clothes that brazenly expose her arms and legs. What would people think of him if they saw her attire? His chief concern is a ruined reputation.

There is also the American-born Priya, who is deeply disappointed in her parents for abandoning their conservative Tamil lifestyle to "immerse themselves in Money and McNuggets" in America. She has a glorified image of India, so her father urges her to go and experience firsthand the India she so reveres. Her impressions are priceless.

These stories are a picturesque treat. The portrait that ultimately emerges is that of a city and a people in transition. We gain some insight into the global phenomenon of American popular culture and how it is being accommodated in one part of the world in spite of the resulting conflict and tensions. Let's hope there will be more great reads from Sankaran in the future!

Initially reviewed in the launch issue of Belletrista: http://www.belletrista.com/2009/issue1/reviews_9.html

Between Bangalore and Bombay, short stories contrasting old/new economies, housing, dress, traditions. A contribution to other portraits of India and the back and forth between India and the USA.

Full of painful distances: between generations, friends, and classes. If it weren't for the few notes of hope and sweetness this would be unbearable.½