The Dream Builders

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.