The story is about (and narrated by) Rukmani, the fourth daughter of a village headman in rural India, who is married -- at age twelve -- to Nathan, a land-less tenant farmer. But this book will challenge any stereotypes you may have about arranged marriages; genuine love joins them as they struggle to wrest a living from land they do not even own. Early on, their life is poor in material things, but it is adequate. Rukmani bears six children, but over the years she loses almost everything that is dear to her.
Despite the tragic story line, this is an absolutely beautiful book and a testament to the human spirit. Markandaya's writing is evocative without being excessive. She is lyrical, even as she describes scenes of sorrow. Each of us at the Book Club said we had been moved to tears at some point -- Markandaya has the ability to make you love the characters as much as she must have.
I first read this book some twenty years ago. As I re-read it, what struck me was the picture of impersonal economic forces creating very personal individual tragedy. Rukmani and Nathan face the usual obstacles of poor farmers: drought and flooding. But what truly is their undoing is the coming of industry: outside people arrive to build a tannery in the village. The flood of construction workers with ready cash drives up prices at the market where the local people shop for all their necessities. While the local farmers can sell their produce for a good price, their money buys less, and they are poorer in the end. When the tannery begins production, it drives local artisans (like the local cobbler) out of work. The tannery itself pollutes the air and water, and eventually gobbles up adjacent land, including the land farmed by Rukmani and Nathan. This book puts a human face on the "price of progress."
This is a book to read, to keep, and to re-read. To remind us of the beauty even in human tragedy, and the dignity even among the down-trodden.