Nectar in a Sieve (Signet Classics)
by Kamala Markandaya

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Book Reviews of Nectar in a Sieve (Signet Classics)

Book Review: how i feel...
Summary: 5 Stars

I believe there are two different interpretations in this ambiguous title, just like the words inflammable and flammable. Before I continue, let me inform you the definitions of nectar and sieve. Nectar is a sweet liquid secreted by flowers and are consumed by pollinators such as hummingbirds and insects. A sieve is a utensil for separating the finer and coarser parts of a pulverized substance. The first interpretation is that the main character in the story, Rukmani, used a sieve to try to capture all the sweetness out of her hard, miserable life and she somehow succeeded. The title shows how this brave Indian woman tries to get the best out of every challenge and never surrender to fate. The second interpretation, the one that I believe to be true, is that in Rukmani¡¦s depressing life she tried to capture the sweet nectar by using a sieve and the results were fruitless. All her hard work and her hope, represented by the nectar, slipped away bit by bit through the sieve. There are many evidences in the book that supports and chains my idea.

Rukmani is the ¡§daughter of the village headman¡¨ but due to the reason of the dowries of her four previous sisters and the Collector in the village who seized control, Rukmani¡¦s family ¡§could not find her a rich husband, so they married her to a tenant farmer who was poor in everything.¡¨ Rukmani¡¦s social status drop suddenly from a daughter of a headman to a wife of a farmer and the marriage was considered as¡§ a poor match.¡¨ Later, to her disappointment, she gave birth to a girl named Irawaddy, ¡§after one of the great rivers of Asia, who would take with her a dowry and leave nothing but a memory behind.¡¨ Five years after the marriage of Irawaddy, she was returned to her parents for she is a ¡§barren women¡¨,¡§a failure." As the story moves on, more unexpected events came and shatter Rukmani¡¦s life. She gave birth to more children and ¡§the resources have to be shared out in smaller and smaller portions. Finally, ¡§they no longer had milk in the house and curds and butter were beyond their means except on rare occasions.¡¨ After their lives improve,¡§the rains failed¡¨ and ¡§the earth was parched to dust.¡¨Still,¡§day after day the pitiless sun blazed down, scorching whatever still struggled to grow and baking the earth hard until at last it split and great irregular fissures paged in the land.¡¨To Rukmani¡¦s surprise, her beloved daughter, Irawaddy, tried to help the family financially by becoming a prostitute. As a result, she gave birth to an albino child as ¡§fair as a blossom¡¨ and whose hair was the ¡§color of moonlight.¡¨ It was a great humiliation to the family and the source of gossip around the neighborhood. Due to the problem with the lack of rain, another merciless impact hit Rumani, her ¡§last child, conceived in happiness at a time when the river ran gently, had been taken¡¨ by death.

These are just a few examples of obstacles such as poverty or disasters Rukmani encountered throughout her life. Many more heartrending events happened afterwards. To me, Rukmuni courageously used a sieve to try to capture the nectar, or precious objects in life but no matter how hard she tries, the sweetness seeps out and all that is left is bitterness and despair.

Summary of Nectar in a Sieve (Signet Classics)

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