Nectar in a Sieve

This is a novel of the the real India, the India of the villages, where life is determined by the relentless alternative s of earth-cracking droughts and monsoon floods. It is the story, told with lyrical simplicity, of Rukmani, the wife of a peasant farmer in souther India. Rukmani's marriage was arranged by her parents, according to Indian tradition. But Nathan proves to be a gentle and understanding husband, and the bond between him and Rukmani deepens as together they work the land, raise their children, and grow old. In spite of sorrows and hardships, they share their brief pleasures, scoring them in bitter times. Their spirits are never broken, not even when Rukmani's beautiful daughter is forced into prostitution to get food for her dying baby brother. Kamala Markandaya gives an incomparably vivid picture of Indian village life in a novel that is suffused with beauty and love and charged with awareness of the endless flow of the forces of life.