Nectar in a Sieve

I read the book Nectar in a Sieve this summer. This book is about a family trying to grow with a changing village. The main characters in the book are Rukmani, a woman from a loving family, and Nathan, her arranged husband. The two of them together form a life of their own in India until everything starts changing and the world seems to fall apart. These events create themes within the book. The three themes in my book are love, family, and hope. The first theme in the book that I immediately noticed was love. Love is important because without it, I don’t think Rukmani would have the motivation to go on. Her family was very concerned with picking a husband because they wanted her to be as happy as possible with the small dowry they had. When her family finally finds a suitable husband they have chosen well. Nathan, her husband, is very hard working and considerate. Her and Nathan fall in love quickly, and try for a family. Rukmani becomes very upset when she finds out it would be difficult for her to have children. The second theme in the book is family. Family is very important because it was practically the whole theme of the book, without family, there wouldn’t even be a story. She and Nathan want a son to call their own, but know it’s not likely. They turn to a local doctor and he says it’s possible, but not promised. When Rukmani finally conceives she is elated, but slightly disappointed when it’s a daughter. Together, Nathan and Rukmani try and try for a son, after years of no luck, they finally had one. It was a large gap between the son and Ira, her daughter, but none the less, perfect. They seemed to have hit gold when they have 4 more sons. The third theme I caught was hope. Hope when all seemed hopeless. This is crucial because without it, Rukmani would’ve given up and died. Rukmani’s village hit a terrible and long drought. All their crops had dried away and prices shot up. The village was dying away before their eyes, and her sons were dying with it. Through the years she was left with only Ira and the youngest of their sons. The sons had either passed away, or moved far off. Nathan and Rukmani become homeless and turn to a distant son for shelter. The son had moved far beyond where anyone knew and they were left alone. They fight together through the pain and poverty until Nathan passes away. Then Rukmani and a local orphan go back to her village to be with Ira and the son. This book caused much sorrow and also a new perspective of life. Whereas Rukmani’s life was filled with lies, cheating, and pain, she still pushed forward and ended with a smile. I was very moved throughout this entire book by her perseverance and hooked through the whole thing. The themes were obvious and many of them, but I think these three were the most apparent to readers. Nectar in a Sieve is a truly inspiring book.