Village by the Sea

This is a book review on the book Village by the Sea by Anita Desai.
Here's a brief summary about the book:
In a small sleepy fishing village of Thul, four siblings have to take care of themselves as well as their sick mother. Their father is a drunkard who always goes to the toddy shop at night to drink. Hari, the only son, climbs trees for coconuts and fishes in the sea for food. Lila, Bela and Kamal help to do housework. Only Bela and Kamal, the youngest in the family, get to study.
When money runs very short, Hari runs in desperation to Bombay, where he gets a job in an eating house. He leaves his family to cope with their problems while he earns money to bring back home to Thul.
The siblings received help during the time of the crisis, so they eventually managed to pull through. In the end, Lila's mother was sent to the hospital to be treated(sponsored by a rich family), her father turned over a new leaf and Hari returns with money.
I think that this is a very well-written mordern day fairy tale and adventure story. Anita Desai writes in such a way that Village By The Sea not only introduces many themes that relates to real-life situations, but also more about India.