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THE HITCHHIKER

© Vinod George Joseph 2009

The Hitchhiker is the story of Ebenezer, the son of untouchable Hindus who converted to Christianity.  The controversy over Christian missionary activity in India forms the backdrop to this novel.  The not-so-religious Ebenezer is on the fence, totally focussed on doing well in the extremely competitive entrance exams to engineering colleges. Joining the Global Evangelical Church has not altered Ebenezer's family’s status in their ancestral village, where they are still treated as untouchables.  During one of their visits, Ebenezer’s mother and sister are killed in caste related violence. Ebenezer plods his way through an unfair world, where not all software engineers do well and where dotcoms go bust and where religion, caste and educational background play an overwhelming role.  The one bright spark in his life is Gayathri, the daughter of a rich right-wing Hindu nationalist businessman. Gayathri's family does not want her to marry Ebenezer and try to wean her away.  It is an unequal fight between the powerful business family and Ebenezer. However, Ebenezer refuses to part with his soul any More. Find out if Ebenezer wins or loses the fight.

First published in paperback by Books for Change, Vinod will donate his royalties from the first 1000 sales of this digital version to Books for Change.

VINOD GEORGE JOSEPH was born in Kerala (Southern India) and spent the first 18 years of his life in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu where both his parents worked as teachers.  After school, Vinod went off to Bangalore where he spent five years acquiring a law degree from the National Law School of India University.  A corporate lawyer’s life in Mumbai beckoned.  After four years in Mumbai working for a series of law firms and banks in Nariman Point, Vinod left for the UK in the fall of 2002 to pursue a Masters course in corporate and commercial laws at the London School of Economics. It was while living and working in Mumbai that Vinod started thinking of writing a novel. However, Vinod did not get to start working on Hitchhiker until he reached the LSE. It took Vinod a little over a year to complete the first draft of Hitchhiker, though it was not until December 2005 that Hitchhiker actually appeared in print. Currently Vinod lives in the UK with his wife and daughter. Despite a busy schedule as a lawyer, husband and father, Vinod continues to write short stories and articles which are published on his blog: www.winnowed.blogspot.com