The minute I embarked upon Lakshmi's story, I knew I was reading something very special. Married off at fourteen, a mother five times over before she reaches twenty, Lakshmi is a woman of rare energy and talent. Realising very early on that she must make her own luck, she is ruthless in her determination to provide for her children. The Japanese invasion of Malaya ruins her financially, and robs her of her beloved daughter - a tragedy from which the family never really recovers. The sounds, smells and tastes of far-away Malaysia in the second half of the twentieth century are vividly evoked, as are the beliefs and superstitions that shape society and family life. Rani Manicka shows a magical grasp of character and language unusual in a first novel, and is destined for bestsellerdom.