Boys Without Names

Set in India, Indian-born author Kashmira Sheth’s young-adult, coming-of-age novel, Boys without Names (2010), revolves around Gopal, a boy who belongs to an impoverished family with a bleak future. When Gopal agrees to travel from his small rural village to Mumbai to find work to help provide his family with money they owe, he is told a factory job is waiting for him. However, when he arrives, Gopal realizes there is no factory, only a filthy sweatshop that forces its workers into cruel and abusive slave labor. Locked inside a dilapidated building with five other boys, Gopal finally finds a ray of hope when he begins sharing “kahanis,” oral stories that bring the children closer together. As the stories turn the boys from enemies into friends, Gopal finds the courage to escape, strength to survive, and will to endure. Boys without Names has been called “a tightly woven tale of a boy’s will to survive, the power of story and the bond of friends tied together in the hope of a better day” by BookPage. Publishers Weekly writes, “Sheth’s lush prose creates a vivid portrait of slave labor without losing the thread of hope that Gopal clings to.”

Narrated in the first person by eleven-year-old Gopal, the story begins in a small rural village in India. Gopal’s impoverished family is indebted to the tax collectors, who have taken their family farm as collateral. Gopal lives with his mother, Aai, father, Baba, as well as his two playful younger twin siblings, brother, Naren, and sister, Sita. As the story begins, Gopal and his family are too impoverished to remain in their isolated village. As a result, the family makes a pilgrimage to the city of Mumbai in order to earn money and lift the family out of poverty. The journey from village to city is extremely difficult for Gopal and his family, as they lack money to purchase necessary goods and struggle with the language barriers and various customs. Gopal and his family are forced to dwell on the streets for many days until Baba finally decides to leave the family to search for his brother, Jama, who was supposed to meet them at a train station. Unable to read directions and street signs, Baba gets lost, leaving the rest of the family struggling to stay alive without him.

Gopal and his family eventually locate Jama, who provides shelter and gives the family food. Jama agrees to help the family find Baba. Gopal, who is kind, clever, and selfless, decides to find ways to make money to help find his father. One day, Gopal meets a slick-talking older boy named Jatin, who promises well-paying work if Gopal follows him to the location right away. Gopal asks Aai if he can take the job, but she refuses, telling Gopal to deny Jatin. However, Gopal disobeys his mother, agreeing to work at the factory. Gopal is taken to an abusive sweatshop owned and operated by a ruthless tyrant. Gopal names the owner Scar.



Trapped inside a rundown building with five other boys without names, Gopal grows used to the harsh workday routine. He is given little food to eat every day, one bath a week, and forced to work long daily hours gluing beads to picture frames. Locked inside, Gopal becomes acquainted and friendly with the other boys in the sweatshop. The boys without names include The Night Chatterer, a quiet and sensitive boy who hardly speaks in the daytime but mutters in his sleep; Grey Cloud (aka GC), a mean bully who hates Gopal at first and does not want to cooperate with his fellow captives; Dimpled Chin, the youngest, most innocent, and fragile boy in the group; Rocking Boy, a nice child who sits back in his rocking chair and taps his fingers on the floor when he gets nervous; and Thick Fingers, the leader of the boys group who is close with GC and mean to Gopal at first, but warms up as the story progresses.

As the boys toil away in despair and face cruel treatment from Scar, Gopal conjures a way to find hope. Gopal begins sharing kahanis, a storytelling tradition that helps the boys express their hopes, dreams, fears, and experiences in life. What begins as a way to pass the time soon turns into a bonding form of therapy for the unnamed boys. As the children open up, sharing details from their lives, Gopal hatches a plan to escape the sweatshop. However, his plans are dashed when the boys overhear Scar speaking with some mysterious men nearby. Scar enters the shop, ties all of the boys up, gags their mouths with rags, and hides them behind a stack of crates. The police arrive to investigate the shop but see nothing out of the ordinary. Just as they are set to leave, one of the police officers spots the beam of Gopal’s flashlight in the corner. The officer stops to investigate further, eventually, discovering the boys tied up behind the crates. The police rescue the boys. Scar is arrested and sent to jail. The police escort the boys back to their families, placing those with nowhere to go up for adoption.

Before the boys are separated in their return home, each one reveals his real name. Rocking Boy is Sahil; Dimpled Chin is Amar; Thick Fingers is Barish; CG is Kabir; and Night Chatterer is Roshan. At the end of the novel, Gopal is returned to his family, who welcomes him with open arms and tears of joy. Baba has returned home safely, and Gopal and his family live happily ever after.