RaveThe Wall Street Journal[Dreamers] consists of a set of compelling profiles ... The book’s strength lies in its shoe-leather detail; many of the chapters were developed as articles for the New Delhi-based Hindustan Times, where she works. Ms. Poonam goes to unremarkable places and hangs out with ordinary people ... There are many such gems in the book. In the hands of a lesser reporter they would simply sound farcical. But Ms. Poonam writes about these men—there are few women in her profiles—with empathy and portrays them convincingly as part of a larger social phenomenon ... Ms. Poonam’s reporting focuses on the lack of jobs and shortage of skills, but ultimately the story she tells suggests a bigger political narrative behind these stories.
