Rani Manicka creëert levendige, fantasierijke verhalen die de zwakheden van de menselijke natuur en de gevolgen van oorlog onderzoeken, vaak doordrenkt van rijke familiegeschiedenissen. Haar meeslepende verhalen verkennen de complexiteit van liefde, verraad en verslaving, en trekken lezers mee in boeiende verhalen over onconventionele relaties tegen de achtergrond van historische conflicten. Manicka's onderscheidende stem en bekwame proza creëren meeslepende literaire ervaringen die resoneren met emotionele diepgang.
De rijstmoeder: zij is de 'geefster van leven' en staat aan het begin van een dramatische familiegeschiedenis die vier generaties bestrijkt in het exotische Maleisië. Hartstocht en verlangen, liefde, verraad en dood - en een mysterieuze banvloek die pas in de vierde generatie zal worden opgeheven. Maar tegen welke prijs?
Escape into a world of exotic intrigue and romance. 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 naïve 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 . . .
THE BALINESE TWINS -- Beautiful and exotic, they exchange an island paradise for the shabby squalor of London, and innocence for corruption. THE SICILIAN -- Ricky Delgado strikes a devil's bargain with a blood goddess: 'Build my temple and bring me the souls of damaged people, and you will see what rewards I give. THE COURTESAN -- Elizabeth makes her living from men's desire. With a flick of the switch in her head, she feels nothing: no pain, no hate, no sorrow, no joy. THE ARTIST -- Anis takes to painting as an outlet for his rage. His artist's eye knows his subjects before they know themselves, and he paints them all, a gallery of broken people. Can they escape the deadly web of decadence and sin?