Welcome to Litsy!

#booked2020 #hatheadcoveringoncover

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A vivid portrayal of rural life in India.

This book is a work of art. I understand that people debate the authenticity issues, but the prose here is startlingly perfect, the narrator and her family memorable. If I can muster it, I would love to use this book in my 200-level World Literature class.

First book that came to mind for this prompt. I read this ages ago & was deeply moved by this story of a peasant woman named Rukmani. She is married off young, toils alongside her husband on their farm in extreme situations like drought, sees one of her children die, & doesn't give up on herself. I thought it was written compassionately, not as "tragedy porn", but there is some criticism of it along those lines. #ImEveryWoman #FierceFeb @Cinfhen

Today's author spotlight: Kamala Markandaya! She is considered a major figure in modern Indian literature. Born in Mysore in 1924, she moved with her husband, Bertrand Taylor, to Britain at 25, where she died in 2004. Her 10 novels were produced over 3 decades. "Nectar In a Sieve" was made a #BOTM main selection & awarded ALA Notable Book status in 1955. At least 12 Ph.D. theses have been written on her works. #AuthorPotpourri #TheMoreYouKnow

#FunFridayPhoto. These were both assigned in my freshman social studies class in 1983. I loved them so much! Neither one has a dust jacket and were bought used. I must've passed along my original paperback copies years ago. Nectar in a Sieve was my introduction to Indian literature. If you ever come across it, I recommend it whole-heartedly.

Some of the lines in this novel are absolutely breathtaking. It is incredible that a novel can encompass the life of a woman in India (with little reference to time or place), who lives inches away from abject property, who knows little of the world outside her town and reflect such honesty, beauty and truth. This universal story told with straightforward prose is rightly a classic.

Want is our companion from birth to death, familiar as the seasons or the earth, varying only in degree.