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Nectar in a Sieve
Nectar in a Sieve
Author: Kamala Markandaya
Named Notable Book of 1955 by the American Library Association, this is the very moving story of a peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved.
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ISBN-13: 9780451528230
ISBN-10: 0451528239
Publication Date: 1/1/2002
Pages: 190
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 54

4 stars, based on 54 ratings
Publisher: Signet Classics
Book Type: Mass Market Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

achadamaia avatar reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
This is the story of a peasant family living in a small village in India. The modern world is encroaching as a huge tannery moves into town.

The story is told through the voice of the mother of the family. Her family is very poor. They rent their land and try to grow enough rice and vegetables to make it through the year. It's a cruel life. However, the family considers themselves better off than others who don't even have the land to work.

This book is well written. It's is strangely uplifting despite the despair of such a harsh life. The style reminded me of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth.
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 224 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is a beautiful and eloquent story that tells of a simple peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved. This novel is a story of a woman's struggle to find happiness in a changing India. Married as a child bride to a tenant farmer she had never seen, she worked side by side in the field with her husband to wrest a living from land that was rafaged by droughts, monsoons, and insects. With remarkable fortitude and courage, she sought to meed the challenge of changing times and to fight poverty and diaster. She saw one of her infants die of starvation, her daughter become a prostitute, and her sons leave the land for jobs that she distrusted. And somehow she survived....
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on
Helpful Score: 2
beautifully written story of a woman's life in rural India. Each chapter is a glance into her world and her struggles.
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this book tremendously. Markandaya is a storyteller by nature and truly captures human nature. I love reading about other cultures. This wasn't overwhelmingly about culture, but it was a a story that transcends culture... a story of courage, poverty, struggle, human strength. I recommend it!
castelli avatar reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 11 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
An inspiring read about a woman in India and her strugles to support her family, and to later have her son's support her and her husband.

Interesting to hear about the culture of dowries, arranged marriages, and prefering male children and being disappointed in birthing daugheters.

Loved it.
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obsidianfire avatar reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 133 more book reviews
Good read, but tough. The main character of the book suffers through many hard battles just to survive. But there is joy and hope mixed in as well. It is a very touching book, but it definately has it's moments when you might need to get out the kleenex.
PBSmaven avatar reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 107 more book reviews
Very interesting and riveting book.
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 31 more book reviews
This beautiful and eloquent story tells of a simple peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved. If you like stories like "Cry, The Beloved Country", you will like this also.
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 6 more book reviews
Set in India-quote: "This beautiful and eloquent story tells of a simple peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a gallant and persistent battle to care for those she loved."
"married as a child bride to a tenant farmer she had never seen.."
Critic: "probably the ablest Indian novelist now writing in English..."
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on + 1452 more book reviews
Sometimes I find reading about those in other countries and the lives they lead inspiring. This fictional story details the life of two Indian women whose lives are connected by time and place. Kunthi, a prostitute, turns to this life to keep herself and her family alive. Rukmani, the narrator, is the fourth daughter in a family whose circumstances can no longer provide the funds for her to marry into the wealth she enjoyed as child. At twelve, she becomes the bride of a tenant farmer who loves and respects her throughout their marriage. It's poignant, heart wringing and fascinating.
reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on
One of the most beautifully written novels I've read. The sadness was unbearable at times, but I felt compelled by the narrator to press on, as she did, finding hope and beauty in unexpected places. I highly recommend this book.
CantonVillageReader avatar reviewed Nectar in a Sieve on
Very inspirational! Makes me thankful for food on the table.


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