The Village by the Sea (3ème/Groupe1)

Author : Anita Desai.

Genre: teenage Novel.

Blurb: The story of the ‘’The Village by the Sea’’ takes place in a small village called ‘’Thul’’ in Western India and focuses on a family fighting to make ends meet. The main protagonists are Lila, the eldest daughter who is 13 , and his 12years old brother Hari .

They also have two younger sisters, Bela and Kamal . They live with their mother, who is

chronically ill and bedridden . Their father is an alcoholic, forcing Hari and Lila to manage
the family. Despite the fact that their father earns money, he is used to spending all his earnings on alcohol. It is very courageous for Lila and Hari to take care of their young sisters and the family,
nevertheless it is also a very difficult task and responsibility.

One day, Hari decides to leave his family hoping to find a job in Mumbai. Lila remains

alone to take care of the family. Hari successfully finds a job in a restaurant and takes this
opportunity to build a strong friend relationship with Mr. Panwallah who owns a watch repair

shop close to the restaurant.

In the meantime, Hari’s mother fells sick and Lila decides to take her to the hospital with her

two sisters.Their father also decides to stop drinking and accompany her wife during her 7 months

treatment at the hospital.

After seven months away, Hari decides to go back home and is surprised to discover

a new family living in a peaceful and smiling relationship. With the money that Hari won

in Mumbai, he  and his sisters build a small chicken farm

It is very quickly a big success.

Personal Opinion:

Why I choose the Book:

I choose this book because I went in India 2 years ago and I know how difficult the life in

India is.

What I enjoyed about the Book?

I really enjoyed the bravery of the two kids (Hari and Lila)  because it’s very difficult for kids of 12 and 13 years old to work in another city and take care of their family. They are determined  to adaptto a changing, growing world  which is still developing.

 

I would recommend this book to readers who…

I would recommend this book to readers who like novels developing  from a sad  at the

beginning to an happy end. In addition novels comparing the lives of  rich and poor
countries and difficult living conditions are always interesting to explain to readers
that there might be more difficult living conditions than theirs.

 Level: It is not very difficult to understand and quite fast to read.

Rating : 3/5
Victoire