Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya was a great book. I read it all in a day and LOVED it! I became instantly attached to Rukmani and her sweet husband Nathan. The book was written in such a way that the reader could really feel all of Rukmani and her family’s emotions. The constant hunger and worry about food; the forbidden help from Kenny, the stress of seeing your loved ones grow up and move away; seeing your daughter bear an illegitimate child; having a freakish grandchild; losing all you have; moving away from everything you have ever known; and finally having your one true companion pass. I think Rukmani is an inspiration. She braved monsoons and failing crops and catty women and a developing town. She was kind, patient, and understanding. Kamala got her title from A poem by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor entitled, “Work Without Hope”
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All Nature seems at work. Slugs leave their lair—The bees are stirring—birds are on the wing—And Winter slumbering in the open air,Wears on his smiling face a dream of Spring!And I the while, the sole unbusy thing, Nor honey make, nor pair, nor build, nor sing.Yet well I ken the banks where amaranths blow,Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.Bloom, O ye amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away! With lips unbrightened, wreathless brow, I stroll:And would you learn the spells that drowse my soul?Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve,And Hope without an object cannot live.The part of the poem that especially relates to Nectar in a Sieve is “Work without Hope draws nectar in a sieve, and Hope without an object cannot live.” Notice that Hope is capitalized. Hope was a major theme in Nectar in a Sieve. It was sometimes all Rukmani had left. I think Kamala did an excellent job in conveying the everyday struggles of an woman living in a changing India. This book is an inspiration. |
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~ by alishaaa on May 19, 2008.
