The
endorsements expressed about this book are strictly opinions of the individuals
concerned. They are not the views of the organizations/institutions that these
individuals represent and/or positions that these individuals hold.
“The
author has taken certain well-recognised features of India’s microfinance
industry. He has then blended it with such creative licence as a writer is
entitled to, to weave a compelling narrative that leaves the reader guessing
where fact ends and fiction begins” – D. Sampathkumar Editorial
Consultant- The hindu Business Line
“Wow,
what an amazing, engaging, honest, searing tale! I absolutely adored this book.
I started to read it and I was hooked. I could not put it down until I reached
the end. A completely believable and mind boggling eyeopener of a tale of
greed, corruption and altruism and its effect on the desperately poor.
Beautifully written, with not one word out of place, it gives a very clear and
scary picture of what could and does go wrong in India today. An amazing book
which will stay with me,” - Renita D’Silva Author of ‘Monsoon Memories’,
‘The Forgotten Daughter’ and ‘The Stolen Girl’
“Where
Angels Prey is an engaging and touching story of the collision of altruism and
aspiration. Its narration of how the Indian rural poor suffer from this
collision, in the context of the spectacular growth and equally spectacular
crisis of the Andhra Pradesh microfinance industry, shocks and moves. I found
it a most enjoyable, but also most disturbing, read!” – Matthew Gamser,
CEO, SME Finance Forum, International Finance Corporation, Washington DC, USA
“During
the very spectacular implosion of microfinance in Andhra Pradesh in 2010,
Ramesh Arunachalam was merciless in his analysis. Combining field trips, secondary
research and his experience in the rural development space, he stripped bare
the malaise in the sector. It is excellent that he has now parsed all that know
how into this racy entertaining novel.” – M Rajshekhar, Senior
Journalist, Scroll.in and former Senior Assistant Editor (Rural India,
Environment), The Economic Times
“This
novel is a brilliant piece of work from a person who has seen at close quarters
the microfinance industry’s rise and fall in Andhra Pradesh. The plot, fit for
a movie, is beautifully woven into all the happenings that have plagued the
sector. It makes for such a compelling read that it can’t be put down even
once!” – Madhusudhan Lagisetty, Assistant Vice President, Tata AIG Life
Insurance Co Ltd
“Money is
trust encrypted; the story of how it can be used to destroy trust in the name
of the poor is vividly portrayed in this highly entertaining book…the title
says it all.” – Al Fernandez, Chairman NABFINS Ltd and Padmashree Awardee
2000
“Where
Angels Prey is art imitating life … a great read the first and the second time
around.” – Jami Solli, Executive Director of the Global Alliance for
Legal Aid (GALA), USA
“Really
enjoyed the novel Where Angels Prey…. Its unique plot and fast pace make it a
very entertaining and smooth read.” – Prof M S Sriram, formerly Professor
at IIM (Ahmedabad) and currently Visiting Professor at IIM (Bangalore)
“Where
Angels Prey is wonderfully written and captivating. I thought I’d read a
chapter, but the narrative was so gripping I went through the whole book at one
stretch.” – V Ramamurthy, I.A.S. (Retd), 1959 Batch
“Where
Angels Prey pulls and absorbs you into its plot and holds you there from start
to finish.” – Joy Deshmukh-Ranadive, Global Head, Corporate Social
Responsibility, Tata Consultancy Services
“A
Brilliant Read—Where Angels Prey blurs the line between fiction and truth. From
a man who understands money as well as anyone I know, this book paints the two
worlds that wrestle in India in the 21st century. Descriptive, taut, with
well-etchedout characters, and most importantly entertaining. This book is
crying out to be made into a film!” – Anshuman Jha, Actor
“Riveting….
Designed to be the ideal solution to meet the financial needs of the poor,
somewhere the microfinance sector decided to change course to be in the
commercial, profit-making zone, placing millions of lives at the risk of
failure and complete bankruptcy. Many sector leaders became the same demons, if
not worse, that they swore to slay. The book beautifully highlights the
interconnectedness of issues and actors, helping the reader analyse the
situation on the ground and questioning many of the so-called ‘accepted’
truths. Congratulations to Ramesh for having successfully converted his
long-standing experience with the sector into a gripping narrative that will
have readers asking for much more.” – Moutushi Sengupta, Director–India,
MacArthur Foundation
“From
rural Andhra Pradesh to the shiny lobbies of Wall Street, this financial
thriller is a must read for everybody. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with
microfinance because Ramesh Arunachalam breaks down the concepts and the scams
associated with microfinance in this entertaining saga. This book boasts of
Arunachalam’s sheer brilliance as a writer and as a financial expert. Smooth, fast
and nail-biting! I wonder when the movie is going to be out!” – Anand
Bhaskar, Musician
“Fantastic
storyline, but startlingly realistic; written racily, yet in impeccable
English. Interweaving fact and fiction, this novel is a creative and compelling
read.” - G R Swaminathan, Assistant Solicitor General of India
“No one
doubted the power of microfinance in pulling millions out of poverty. But, a
spate of suicides by the borrowers in 2010 raised more questions than answers.
For an inside story of what happened and why, you don’t need to go farther than
this brilliant yet entertaining novel, which is so hard to put down. Ramesh’s
idea to write the microfinance story as fiction is ingenious. The intrigue
behind the rise and fall of the sector could be brought out no holds barred.
It’s a must read. Like one of the characters in the book said, ‘We owe it to
them—to each of those fifty plus people who have been robbed of their lives,
and to the hundreds of thousands of others whose trust has been violated’.” – S
Sivakumar, Architect, ITC e-Choupal
“Where
Angels Prey is really an excellent read! This graphic exploration of the once
universally-lauded microfinance industry is bang on target. It works not just
as a great read but as something to make you think a little deeper along the
way. Written with flair, verve and a superb eye for detail—which is not
surprising as Arunachalam is India’s leading microfinance analyst—this gripping
novel is a trip into the darker side of the poverty industry as it rampages and
careens through the lives of the poor under cover of actually helping them. I
look forward to the film in due course—it will be India’s very own ‘Wall
Street’!” – Milford J. B. Bateman PhD, Freelance consultant on local
economic development, Visiting Professor of Economics, Juraj Dobrila at Pula
University, Croatia and Adjunct Professor of Development Studies, St Marys
University, Halifax, Canada
“I read
Where Angels Prey by Ramesh Arunachalam in one sitting. A tightly and well
written plot. Yes, it’s true the poor lead doomed lives. There is an occasional
break, a sliver of dawn but that proves elusive though not enough for a few
determined reporters to find a story. Will their efforts end and end well or is
there a sequel. Only time and Ramesh can tell if the crooks take it all” – R. Vijaykumar,
PhD, IAS (1978), Secretary, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
(DONER), Govt of India, New Delhi
“Where
Angels Prey – What a wonderful read! I loved the book and most especially the
philosophical puzzle of how it ends. This MUST READ rip-roaring piece of
fiction races the reader through the halls of the Mumbai and New York Stock
exchanges and into the villages of Andhra Pradesh. Where Angels Prey exposes
the worst of what can happen when commercial interests and desperation collide:
a train wreck tragic in every way. At the heart of the story, as two
journalists work unstoppably to interpret a rain of motives, they uncover why
and how the angels prey.” – Kim Wilson, Faculty, The Fletcher School,
Tufts University
Light, engaging, entertaining fast reading, I Highly Recommend Where Angels Prey To All – Dr Smita Premchander
“Microfinance started as a sector that helps people come out of poverty and empower women. Over time, NGOs discovered the profit potential, and as more and more changed to profit motive, the sector became an industry, the profit motive led to exploitation and extortion. This extreme deviation has been vividly captured in this intense and entertaining fictional novel, which is written in very easy style and is compelling from start to finish.” …..Dr. Smita Premchander, who has taught an elective in Microfinance management for the past four years at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and is an international development consultant, and Secretary of Sampark, an NGO that has facilitated formation of financial cooperatives
Full Book Review: Where Angels Prey
Microfinance started as a sector that helps people come out of poverty and empower women. Alongside, it also provided surpluses to NGOs. NGOs tasted freedom from donors. They began to expand their microfinance operations, and realised that as their profits grew, so did donor interest in them. Donor funds did not stop, they increased! The microfinance bread was buttered on both sides. The microfinance agency leaders were painted as angels, by the people to whom they provided easy cash, and by the donors to whom they provided large scale success stories. And then the profit motive led to excessive, expensive credit, at extortionary practices. Those who could not repay, started suffering, even committing suicides. The angels began to prey. With no remorse, even accolades.
An intense, entertaining and compelling plot! Eerily close to reality. A compelling way of narration, with details that sound so true, as if one could imagine these characters and events in real life. Arunachalam’s book is a gripping depiction of what has gone wrong in some cases in microfinance. As the first novel depicting the sector, Arunachalam does a great job, revealing a story layer by layer, with political, village and administration dynamics unfolding alongside an international journalistic story.
A work of fiction has the license to exaggerate, and I would warn readers of the book to read it as pure fiction. Those who know the sector should not look to put faces to characters, as they would be barking up the wrong tree. Read it as fiction, and enjoy it. Personally, although I found the book gripping till the end, I was startled by the end. Perhaps this was the intention of the book, and I caught myself falling into the same trap that I just warned you about: don’t read it as anything but fiction!
Arunachalam is a passionate writer, with regular columns on microfinance. His first book was a magnum opus on what has gone wrong with microfinance. His second book was a concise overview packed with his experience in the sector. His third, the novel Where Angels Prey, is not for the sector specialist at all, it is fiction, and enjoyable as a story. In the genre of light, engaging, fast reading. With that, I recommend the book highly to all, as a good two hour read while you wait at airports and take a flight out, you will not feel the time pass by!
Dr. Smita Premchander, who has taught an elective in Microfinance management for the past four years at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, is an international development consultant, and Secretary of Sampark, an NGO that has facilitated formation of financial cooperatives