Nothing in Lakshmi's childhood, running carefree and barefoot on the sun-baked earth amid the coconut and mango trees of Ceylon, could have prepared her for what life was to bring her. At fourteen, she finds herself traded in marriage across the ocean to a stranger in the fascinating land of Malaysia. Duped into thinking her new husband is wealthy, she instead finds herself struggling to raise a family with a man too impractical to face reality and a world that is, by turns, unyielding and amazing, brutal and beautiful. Undaunted, she becomes a formidable matriarch, determined to wrest from the world a better life for her daughters and sons and to face every new challenge with almost mythic strength.

A multigenerational narrative that spans the nightmare of World War II and the Japanese occupation, The Rice Mother gorgeously evokes a world of exotic beauty and vivid characters, where small pleasures offset unimaginable horrors. It is a powerful story of laughter and loss, love and betrayal, in a world where ghosts and gods walk hand-in-hand. Perfect for readers of Amy Tan, Isabel Allende, and Arundhati Roy, The Rice Mother marks the luminous debut of a writer whose universal themes will touch readers, especially women, the world over.