Such Big Dreams

A Novel

By: Reema Patel

Narrated by: Lavanya Gandhi

Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

A savvy former street child working at a law office in Mumbai fights for redemption and a chance to live life on her own terms in this “smart, haunting, and compulsively readable” (Amy Jones, author of We’re All in This Together) debut novel about fortune and survival.

“A heartbreaking yet hopeful story about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of insurmountable odds.”—Etaf Rum, New York Times bestselling author of A Woman Is No Man

With a sharp wit and sharper tongue, twenty-three-year old Rakhi Kumar is nobody’s fool. Sure, she lives alone in a slum and works as a lowly office assistant for the renowned lawyer, Gauri Verma, who gave her a fresh start. But she’s come a long way from her childhood on the streets of Mumbai. Most important, she’s busy enough to distract herself from the nightmares of a grisly childhood incident that led to the disappearance of her best friend.

Fiercely intelligent, Rakhi could be doing so much more than making chai, but she allows herself to be underestimated by her colleagues at Justice For All, Gauri’s cash-strapped rights law office. These days, it’s becoming harder for Rakhi to keep her head down as Gauri desperately tries to save her organization by recruiting former Bollywood actress and infamous nineties “thong girl,” Rubina Mansoor, to be their celebrity ambassador. But not all money is good money. Convincing Gauri to make increasingly brash moves, Rubina demands an internship for a young family friend, Harvard-bound graduate student, Alex Lalwani-Diamond. An ambitious, naïve rich kid with a savior complex, Alex persuades Rakhi to show him “the real India.” In exchange, he’ll do something to further Rakhi’s dreams, in a transaction that seems harmless, at first.

As old guilt and new aspirations collide, everything Rakhi once knew to be true is set ablaze. And as the stakes mount, she will come face-to-face with the difficult choices and moral compromises one must make in pursuit of self-preservation, and ultimately, survival. Such Big Dreams is a moving, smart, and arrestingly clever look at the cost of reclaiming one’s story.

©2022 Reema Patel (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“Cynical, street-smart Rakhi . . . is a sharply drawn protagonist [who] gives this novel power and zest.”—Kirkus Reviews

“An astonishingly gifted storyteller, Reema Patel writes with a confidence, insight, and skill that belies her status as a debut novelist. A smart, haunting, compulsively readable novel with tightly woven plot and an unforgettable narrator, Such Big Dreams is a gripping story you’ll want to simultaneously race through at breakneck speed and slow down to savor every word.”—Amy Jones, author of We’re All in This Together

“From the very first page, Such Big Dreams grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go. Patel’s prose jumps with energy, plunging the reader into a page-turner of a story that doesn’t shy away from exploring hard and painful truths about the way people navigate the systemic conditions of society. With assured writing, Patel explores themes ranging from societal elitism to the nuances of interpersonal betrayal. Visceral and kinetic, Such Big Dreams is a splash of a debut.”—Zalika Reid-Benta, author of Frying Plantain

Kept my attention!

A very good story, read by a great performer. I really enjoyed it! It was one of those stories that you don’t want to end.

Captivating

Narration was excellent, and the story was captivating that I found myself listening even when I normally don’t listen to audiobooks.

Wonderful insights into the real India

As a college freshman in 1962, an account of Calcutta by an Indian author horrified me. Later, friends in thee Merchant Marines spoke of smelling Calcutta miles before seeing shoreline,and another who smelled Calcutta in a commercial airliner long before landing.

I’ve never been there but have come to know many people from India who span the spectrum of society in both India and America. India is a beautiful country populated by wonderful people rebuilding a land devastated by Colonial repression and subsequent corruption. Wow.

Great performance

this was such an interesting book on many levels. The performance was wonderful, one could identify the different characters just by the narrator's change in tone and diction. I learned a lot about the life of lower class people in India

Couldn’t stop listening!

I absolutely loved this novel. It immersed me in the city of Mumbai and at the same time engaged me with a wonderful narrator and raised important questions about the best moral path forward for Indians and for others who want to break the cycle of poverty in the city. All the characters in the novel R complex and beautifully crafted. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wants a fantastic read on multiple levels.