A review by stephen_coulon
Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya

challenging emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Kamala Markandaya’s classic semi-autobiographical story of an Indian woman’s increasingly difficult life as a farmer’s wife in the mid twentieth century. It should be an affecting tale in its pathos – there’s plenty of suffering and hardship and punctuating moments of touching humanity. Only I found myself increasingly disconnected as the story wore on. I think at this point in my reading life I may need more from style than Markandaya has on offer. Her plaintive style is certainly readable but there’s no standout moments of sublimity in her technique. I did find it interesting to compare the narrator’s hardships in this book to American pastorals penned by women farmers (such as Cather and Ingalls-Wilder), as so many of the burdens and insights seemed shared by women across continents and centuries.