AS SWEET AS HONEY

"As Sweet As Honey" is the story of a family on and off the island of Pi in the Bay of Bengal.  The book is a lovely read of humor, folklore of PI, love, and the voices of children.  There is also jealousy, a ghost, and the desire to explore the western world.

Meterling, the aunt, is the center of the book.  She is very tall compared to the shortness of most women on the island of Pi. Meterling is fascinated by the western world but also filled with great love for her family and the gorgeous flowers of the island. Meterling is engaged to a short, plump English man, Archer.  At Meterling and Archer's wedding Archer dies while dancing of an aneurism.  Then Merling finds she is pregnant.


Her family, the children, aunts and uncles worry about her grief and her desire to be different.  Her family tries to tell the children their aunt's story but only Meterling can share her story of her sorrow and her desire to make her own decisions in life.  Pi's island culture emphasizes compatible horoscopes in marriage partners especially to outsiders.  It's interesting to compare and contrast the viewpoint of the children's relationship with Meterling and the adults relationship to her.  Meterling remarries and takes her son to England to live.   Again it's interesting to compare the color, warmth, and friendliness of Pi to the cold greyness of London.  All of this ties in well to Meterling's emotional state at the time she is dealing with sorrow, a new marriage, and a new move to a different culture.  I found this is a gentle, easy read.