Nectar in a Sieve (Signet Classics)
S**
A novel portraying unwavering hope
This is a beautiful novel that captures the story of unwavering hope despite many trials and tribulations for a family living in an Indian village. I fell in love after reading this book many years ago. I've re-read it recently and fell in love with the story all over again. This is a must read! I absolutely recommend this book to everyone.
M**K
Layers of sorrow
Very reminiscent of the The Good Earth. The layers of sorrow outweigh the happiness in the lives of these peasant farmers. The writing is simple in accordance with the character telling the story. An excellent book for young American high school students who suffer from 1st world problems like poor cell phone reception. Every day revolves around finding enough food to avoid starvation and stay alive. Rice is the center of their universe and to read of these people on the verge of starvation is heartbreaking. The author keeps places and times vague enough to maintain a universality of the peasant's plight in India. This book is the 2015 US Academic Decathlon selection novel and it provides an great introduction into Indian literature.
T**R
Pleasantly surprised
I read this book for school. Having never heard of it, I assumed it would be boring. I was greatly surprised at how interesting it was. This story takes the reader through Rukmani`s life as a poor Indian woman, wife, and mother during the time that England was in charge of India. It is certainly NOT boring, as I assumed it would be. Easy to follow and easily teaches a lot about the social classes and life in that time period in India. I finally would recommend this fascinating book to readers of all ages.
L**T
I bought this for my 13 year old grqnddaughtr
Wonderful story to gai perspective of hardship and dealing with it.
J**Y
Story is great, the publisher is awful
I really enjoyed this novel - the story is interesting, the imagery is beautiful. I enjoyed the characters very much. The publisher (Stellar Classics), however, did a terrible job producing this product. If you're looking for a quality version of this novel, look somewhere else. It is full of grammatical errors (which, as an English teacher drove me CRAZY), and the cover of the book is an awful, pixelated photograph - it looks like the publisher just took a photo from Google images and blew it up to use for the cover. So, while I really enjoyed the story, I do not recommend this particular publication.
M**Y
Good Read!
I am a big reader - and this book was on my daughter's summer reading list for 9th Grade. I totally enjoyed this book - the author was very descriptive, making the scenes lift off the page. The main character was a strong, but humble woman -- with the book taking you on her life's journey from childhood (12yrs) to that of a grandmother. I would recommend for a preteen/teenager.
N**L
Rereading now that I'm older
I first read this during summer break when I was a young teen, I seemed to have gone through a period when I read women's stories (The Good Earth, etc.). Nectar is one of those books that stays with you, quietly. I now am rereading it because I am old enough to be grandma now and have my own lifetime of experiences, want to see how my evolving life feels about the book now. I got from the book, long ago, how strong women can be, how quiet can sometimes speak louder then anything, how no matter what trials life throws at you, you just continue to do the best you can, you continue to live. I don't particular agree with the Indian (and other cultures) where they marry off their daughters at such a young age, but I have to admire women like Rukmani. She was lucky to be married to a man who respected and honored her--so many girls are married to men who never appreciate what they have, who hate women. I'm glad they came out with a Kindle version too.
J**S
Well worth a re-read!
This was the first book I read when I joined my first book club 40+ years ago. I decided that I wanted to get a copy of it to offer to my current book club. As yet, I have not re-read it, but I remember enjoying it so much.
D**
Must Read!
A must Read !
G**N
Five Stars
OMG a MUST READ
D**Y
Five Stars
Poignant tale of an Indian family.
R**T
Must read Indian modern classic.
Poignant and heart wrenching. I have been delving into the ocean of Indian classics for a while now.this definitely is marked one of my favourites in the category.
M**Y
Life in rural India. Very readable.
Well written and very readable account of a woman in rural India living through the changes of industrialisation.
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