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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
** Books 233 - 2017 **
This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2017
3,3 of 5 stars!
It is really hard when i just sitting and read this pieces about how painful the Rukmani's life. She is having arranged marriage in twelve years old with Nathan. She only have an daughter named Ira and with the doctor help she can have six son but not everyone can help their father in farming. Their land is being taken away from them and they are starving almost death.
This is really painful story to read with >__<
This books to accomplish Tsundoku Books Challenge 2017
3,3 of 5 stars!
It is really hard when i just sitting and read this pieces about how painful the Rukmani's life. She is having arranged marriage in twelve years old with Nathan. She only have an daughter named Ira and with the doctor help she can have six son but not everyone can help their father in farming. Their land is being taken away from them and they are starving almost death.
This is really painful story to read with >__<
Easy read, I thought it was slow and very repetitive. Had to read it for school but would not recommend it.
Nectar in a Sieve is an exquisitely depicted, gorgeously written, yet ultimately depressing novel unrelenting in its constant tormenting of the reader.
3/5 stars
Recommended for people who like: Grapes of Wrath, stories of struggle, slice-of-life
I'll start off by saying I didn't dislike this book, I just didn't like it either. It kind of sits in that weird middle ground for me where I can admire Markandaya's style of writing and still acknowledge the book didn't really elicit any emotions from me. The plights that Rukmani and her family go through are tough and I suppose I do have sympathy for them, but I like it when it's as if I'm going through what the characters are going through, feeling the same emotions they are, and experiencing the plot with them. While Markandaya's writing is lovely, it just didn't draw me into the story that way and thus there was a sort of emotional detachment as I read.
Markandaya's writing in this book is rich with the scents and scenes of Rukmani's life. You can tell by the way Rukmani describes the things she sees that she really does love the land she lives on and that the arrival of the tanner is a less-than-fortuitous thing for her. Likewise, I again enjoyed the richness of the imagery in the city in the second half of the book, and while I did feel lukewarm toward the plot and characters, I did feel as if I could see, smell, and hear what was being described. Aside from imagery, there are some fantastic quotes in this book about life, poverty, and hunger that I really enjoyed. So many different things happen in this book, both good and bad, and I feel Markandaya had something profound to say about both kinds of moments, the peaceful and the chaotic.
Rukmani was an okay character. Sometimes she took agency of her life and the lives of those around her and sometimes she didn't, as is wont to occur. She definitely experiences a lot in her life, from getting married at age 13, to ending up with seven children, not all of whom live into old age, to having to transplant her entire life as she's getting on in years. I think part of the problem with the emotional detachment I experienced is that I often feel as if Rukmani has an emotional detachment. Markandaya writes of Rukmani crying or experiencing joy, but really the only emotion I felt come through strongly was fear. The world could be peaceful and I could see that peacefulness, but I didn't feel the contentment that would go along with it, and I wonder if part of it is because any contentment Rukmani felt toward peacefulness got lost along the way.
In terms of plot, this book really follows along with Grapes of Wrath in that the plot is the lives of the characters. I will admit that I don't generally do well with these kinds of stories as I tend to prefer plots where something other than life occurs. This book is worlds better than Grapes, though, so even if you didn't like that one, there's somewhat of a chance you'll like this one (unless you're like me and don't like the semi-Romantic-style plot line).
In all, it's a short read that's not bad but not good, though the writing is masterful. It follows the ups and downs of life of Rukmani as she goes from being a child bride to a mother to an adult and has to deal with her world changing not only as she ages, but also as outside influences, such as a European tannery, begin to invade her and her family's lives.
Recommended for people who like: Grapes of Wrath, stories of struggle, slice-of-life
I'll start off by saying I didn't dislike this book, I just didn't like it either. It kind of sits in that weird middle ground for me where I can admire Markandaya's style of writing and still acknowledge the book didn't really elicit any emotions from me. The plights that Rukmani and her family go through are tough and I suppose I do have sympathy for them, but I like it when it's as if I'm going through what the characters are going through, feeling the same emotions they are, and experiencing the plot with them. While Markandaya's writing is lovely, it just didn't draw me into the story that way and thus there was a sort of emotional detachment as I read.
Markandaya's writing in this book is rich with the scents and scenes of Rukmani's life. You can tell by the way Rukmani describes the things she sees that she really does love the land she lives on and that the arrival of the tanner is a less-than-fortuitous thing for her. Likewise, I again enjoyed the richness of the imagery in the city in the second half of the book, and while I did feel lukewarm toward the plot and characters, I did feel as if I could see, smell, and hear what was being described. Aside from imagery, there are some fantastic quotes in this book about life, poverty, and hunger that I really enjoyed. So many different things happen in this book, both good and bad, and I feel Markandaya had something profound to say about both kinds of moments, the peaceful and the chaotic.
Rukmani was an okay character. Sometimes she took agency of her life and the lives of those around her and sometimes she didn't, as is wont to occur. She definitely experiences a lot in her life, from getting married at age 13, to ending up with seven children, not all of whom live into old age, to having to transplant her entire life as she's getting on in years. I think part of the problem with the emotional detachment I experienced is that I often feel as if Rukmani has an emotional detachment. Markandaya writes of Rukmani crying or experiencing joy, but really the only emotion I felt come through strongly was fear. The world could be peaceful and I could see that peacefulness, but I didn't feel the contentment that would go along with it, and I wonder if part of it is because any contentment Rukmani felt toward peacefulness got lost along the way.
In terms of plot, this book really follows along with Grapes of Wrath in that the plot is the lives of the characters. I will admit that I don't generally do well with these kinds of stories as I tend to prefer plots where something other than life occurs. This book is worlds better than Grapes, though, so even if you didn't like that one, there's somewhat of a chance you'll like this one (unless you're like me and don't like the semi-Romantic-style plot line).
In all, it's a short read that's not bad but not good, though the writing is masterful. It follows the ups and downs of life of Rukmani as she goes from being a child bride to a mother to an adult and has to deal with her world changing not only as she ages, but also as outside influences, such as a European tannery, begin to invade her and her family's lives.
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Nectar in a Sieve is the story of Rukmani, an Indian peasant woman living in the former half of the twentieth century. There's very little that is happy about this book. By the time I was a third of the way into the book, I felt like the pattern had been established: she was never going to have a secure, happy life, no matter how hard she tried or much her life might be looking up at times. Emotionally, the book can be a bit of a difficult read - it's full of loss and struggle and hardship - though Rukmani's eternal hope is somewhat uplifting. The writing itself, however, is simple and graceful, with some downright lyrical passages.
Bittersweet story of a peasant woman in India trying to find happiness in her life of poverty and toil. There is much trouble and hardship but they are not without hope and happiness. Heart wrenching and sweet.