The Hope Factory

Where innocence, deceit and love collide. Anand is a Bangalore success story: successful, well-married, rich. At least, that's how he appears. But if his little factory is to grow, he needs land and money and, in the New India, neither of these is easy to find.

Kamala, Anand's family's maid, lives perilously close to the edge of disaster. She and her clever teenage son have almost nothing, and their small hopes for self-betterment depend on the contentment of Anand's wife: a woman to whom whims come easily.

But Kamala's son keeps bad company. Anand's marriage is in trouble. And the murky world where crime and wealth and politics meet is a dangerous place for good men, and those who rely on them.

“'Strong echoes of Dickens in this vibrant portrait of ambition and struggle in Bangalore'”

A vivid expos? of modern India's growing pains - Kirkus (starred review)

[A] well-crafted debut novel... Sankaran firmly establishes her talent through the nuances of her characters and a striking exploration of culture - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Strong echoes of Dickens in this vibrant portrait of ambition and struggle in Bangalore - Guardian

Evocative debut depicting life at both ends of Bangalore's social scale. Vivid descriptions make the city as captivating as Sankaran's protagonists - Daily Mail

[A] masterful novel... impossible to put down. [A] compelling tale - Booklist

Praise for Lavanya Sankaran's The Red Carpet:

The Red Carpet reads like a revelation. . . . I recommend this book so highly! - Washington Post

An unusually elegant and nuanced portrait - John Dalton, author of The Inverted Forest

[An] animated debut . . . [These stories] are memorable for their subtle wit and convincing evocation of a dynamic world - Publishers Weekly

Lavanya Sankaran's first collection of stories, THE RED CARPET, was critically acclaimed in the UK and the US and a bestseller in India. She attended Bryn Mawr College and has worked in investment banking in New York and consulting in India. THE HOPE FACTORY is her first novel.

Where innocence, deceit and love collide. Anand is a Bangalore success story: successful, well-married, rich. At least, that's how he appears. But if his little factory is to grow, he needs land and money and, in the New India, neither of these is easy to find.Kamala, Anand's family's maid, lives perilously close to the edge of disaster. She and her clever teenage son have almost nothing, and their small hopes for self-betterment depend on the contentment of Anand's wife: a woman to whom whims come easily.But Kamala's son keeps bad company. Anand's marriage is in trouble. And the murky world where crime and wealth and politics meet is a dangerous place for good men, and those who rely on them.

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