The Japanese Lover - Tapa blanda

THE 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 hard to find. * Heat * Praise for THE RICE MOTHER: 'It 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 Buchan, Times Play * Vivid, complex and full of colour, it's a fabulous read. * Choice *

A breathtaking and absorbing novel set in Malaya propelled by the superb storytelling instinct of the author of THE RICE MOTHER. Parvathi leaves her native Ceylon for Malaya and an arranged marriage to a wealthy businessman. But her father has cheated, supplying a different girl's photograph, and Kasu Marimuthu, furious, threatens to send her home in disgrace. Gradually husband and wife reach an accommodation, and the naive young girl learns to assume the air of sophisticated mistress of a luxurious estate. She even adopts his love child and treats Rubini as her own daughter - a generous act which is rewarded by a long-wished-for son. But it is a life without passion, and Parvathi dreams of loving - and being loved - with complete abandon. When the Japanese invade Malaya, in WW2, they requisition the estate. Marimuthu dies and Parvathi is forced to accept the protection of the Japanese general who has robbed her of her home. For the first time, she experiences sexual ecstasy. And gradually, her sworn enemy becomes the lover she has always yearned for . . .