Book discussion focuses on one woman's struggle to care for those she loved

Warwick —The Albert Wisner Public Library will host a discussion of Nectar in a Sieve on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 2 p.m. Written by Kamala Markandaya, Nectar in a Sieve was the American Library Association’s Notable Book of 1955. In it, Markandaya tells the story of a peasant woman in a primitive village in India whose whole life was a battle to care for those she loved. This relatively short novel introduces the reader to life in rural India and the changes that occurred during that country’s newly won independence from the British Empire. The author, Kamala Markandaya (Kamala Purnaiya Taylor), was born in 1924 in Chimakurti, India. She was a Brahman, which is the highest caste of Hindu, yet she wrote about peasant life in south Indian villages. Markandaya studied at the University of Madras, worked as a journalist in India, then married an Englishman and moved to London in 1948, a year after India gained independence from Britain. Copies of Nectar in a Sieve are available at the library. Registration is required for this discussion. To register, stop by the Adult Reference Desk or call 986-1047.