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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Nectar in a Sieve is a story about poverty and struggle in a rapidly modernizing pre-state India. The novel follows the struggles of Irawaddy a mother and wife who, despite incredible odds, manages to barely survive poverty for years. She is unfairly ostracized by her community and forced to watch her children either die or enter prostitution as the consequence of bad fortune. Nevertheless, she continues to look forward and persist and does all she can to hold her broken family together.
The novel is depressing and bleak with moments of optimism sprinkled in. It simply does not resonate with me in the same way that other books have. Whatever lessons on poverty, gender, social roles, and post-colonialism, are nested inside this book are largely lost on me and are unclear.
The novel is depressing and bleak with moments of optimism sprinkled in. It simply does not resonate with me in the same way that other books have. Whatever lessons on poverty, gender, social roles, and post-colonialism, are nested inside this book are largely lost on me and are unclear.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
the book is sad and the narrator a kind of doe-eyed pragmatist, and there’s a lot to be said about early neocolonialism. but, you know. the title is from a poem written by a British romanticist, which kind of makes you think that Markandaya really drank the kool aid, in a way.
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/04/23/review-1842-1954-club-nectar-in-a-sieve/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2022/04/23/review-1842-1954-club-nectar-in-a-sieve/
medium-paced
Rukmani is the daughter of her village’s chief and knows privilege–until she marries Nathan, a farmer. Follow her life’s story as she, Nathan, and her family survive in a developing post-colonial India. I thought the narrative of this book was eye-opening. I don’t have a lot of exposure to Indian culture, so seeing how the life of the lower-class happens, and how changes that seem beneficial to us are harmful to others, was an enlightening read. There were a few places where the story dragged a little and I felt like Markandaya spent too long on elements that required less. This became a longer problem particularly toward the end of the novel. However, definitely worth the read and I’m glad I had the chance to read it!
I read this with my 14 year old as his summer reading list book, and I was pleasantly surprised. Took a while to appreciate the author's sometimes-complicated writing style - reading it out loud helped for some reason. Some of the difficult scenes and sentences are so thoughtfully composed on the pages, I felt tears welling up inside. My son, a difficult critic to please, ended up agreeing it was a worthwhile read.
A deeply affecting novel in which the main character, living in poverty, is constantly subjected to misfortune after misfortune. However her suffering is portrayed sincerely, so the book does not feel like trauma porn. The dramatic, soapy dialogues feel a bit stilted though, and they take me out of the immersion.
It was an okay book. Definitely picked up in the end and there were some interesting, if a bit underdeveloped relationship dynamics. I only read this to support my students who are also "reading" it, so I don't think I would have picked it up had that not been my purpose in reading it.
For something to be wonderful something else will have to go wrong; for something to make you perfectly happy, sadness will have to take place.