Rice Mother by Rani Manicka
Beguiled by promises of wealth, fourteen-year-old Lakshmi leaves her native Ceylon for Malaysia and marriage to a man many years her senior. But Ayah has lied to her and her family about his circumstances and in fact lives in poverty. A woman of formidable energy and intelligence, Lakshmi provides security, if not luxury, for her family, though at a considerable emotional cost. Then the Japanese army invades during WWII. On the eve of peace, her beloved eldest daughter is raped and killed by the occupying army. The family bears deep scars and inflicts those wounds on the next generation. But in Nisha, Lakshmi's great-granddaughter, it is as if Fate has come full circle and the novel ends on a note of reconciliation and hope.
A first novel of Eastern exoticism and unforgettable characters. . You'll struggle to find a more powerful, moving read this year. - GlamourTranscends barriers of culture, time and place. Memorable for capturing the contradictions of life, the magic and the blight, it should sell in mega numbers. - Publishing NewsIt would be difficult not to be seduced by the evocation of setting, family life, clothes, food and the intriguing mixture of myth, religion and superstition . . . there is a freedom and freshness in the manner in which the author explores the interior life of her characters whose idiosyncrasies and many failings are sympathetically and sometimes humorously observed . . . It possesses a genuine intimacy and passionate involvement. - Elizabeth BuchanTHE RICE MOTHER is exactly the kind of absorbing, cross-generational read that will pass away a few more train journeys than the average popular paperback . . . brimming over with colourful imagery, mythology, unfeeling men and vivid descriptions of cooking . . . Emotionally satisfying, complex books like this are harder to find. - HeatI simply didn't want it to end . . . The characters themselves, with their resolute individualism, ultimately seem larger than either the superbly drawn historical background or the novel's exotic setting - Image MagazineA wonderful treasure-house of a story, a gem of a
Rani Manicka was born and educated in Malaysia. An economics graduate, she now lives in the UK. The Rice Mother is her first novel.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780340823880 |
| ISBN 10 | 0340823887 |
| Title | Rice Mother |
| Author | Rani Manicka |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Hodder & Stoughton |
| Year published | 2002-09-19 |
| Number of pages | 480 |
| Prizes | Winner of The Commonwealth Writer's Prize Best First Book SE Asia and South Pacific 2003 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |