lillyminasyan's review
5.0
“The rats ate an island, but we’ll eat a whole planet. Think about it. We really are like rats. We give nothing to any other creature on this earth. We don’t make honey, our milk is only for our own, our flesh, which is supposed to be sweet, we consider too precious to be eaten by another. We don’t know how to make nests out of our saliva. Even after we are dead we won’t allow out skin to be used for leather. We just know how to shit and fuck.”
This book was nothing that I expected it to be. The characters, the description were phenomenal.
I am tired of “pure love” in books. Those young adult books, with perfect people, with perfect characteristics, so not real, that it makes you vomit.
This book on the other hand showed the truth. People who are unconventional, with their unconventional stories and love. Love, that is the real thing. When someone sees your ugly side and still wants you.
Rani Manicka captured the world, where cocaine is dominated. It reminded me of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, first you are successful and you think you will stay the same way. You can quit at any moment, just not now, not today, maybe tomorrow and the tomorrow never comes. The ugly side of this world, filth, prostitution, sex, jealousy, death.
Nutan, Zeenat, Anis, Maggie, Elizabeth, Bruce, Ricky and Francesca--their stories were captivating and I was rooting for them. But this isn’t a book with happy endings.
“The mirror is a dangerous thing. It is sincere in the company of the insincere.”
This book was nothing that I expected it to be. The characters, the description were phenomenal.
I am tired of “pure love” in books. Those young adult books, with perfect people, with perfect characteristics, so not real, that it makes you vomit.
This book on the other hand showed the truth. People who are unconventional, with their unconventional stories and love. Love, that is the real thing. When someone sees your ugly side and still wants you.
Rani Manicka captured the world, where cocaine is dominated. It reminded me of “The Wolf of Wall Street”, first you are successful and you think you will stay the same way. You can quit at any moment, just not now, not today, maybe tomorrow and the tomorrow never comes. The ugly side of this world, filth, prostitution, sex, jealousy, death.
Nutan, Zeenat, Anis, Maggie, Elizabeth, Bruce, Ricky and Francesca--their stories were captivating and I was rooting for them. But this isn’t a book with happy endings.
“The mirror is a dangerous thing. It is sincere in the company of the insincere.”
amberlyswords's review
3.0
This book was okay. The paced of plot was slow my likeing and the writing was fine. Both the worldbuilding and the ending was okay. The cover of book was stunning and the characters were okay but they were bland.
jkrnomad's review
4.0
I loved 'Rice Mother' and was really looking forward to reading 'Touching Earth,' especially after spending 2 weeks in Bali last year. The images of Bali are authentic and intoxicating. They transport the reader elsewhere. I remember watching the Balinese make offering to their spirits all through the day, well into the night, mysteriously following an invisible path and rituals unbeknownst to me...Nenek does the same. Reportedly a witch, she's tied to the earth, feeding herbal combinations to the ill, possessed and her granddaughters, identical twins.
The twins, their perspectives and desires are fascinating. they each see their home, their family and their culture through different eyes, but each reveals layers rather than something separate.
Their downfall is a trip to London, a gift from their father. The transformation of innocent, sheltered village girls by the evil underbelly of the city is horrifying. You won't want to turn the page, but have to because you have to know what happens to them and their friends as they enter the temple of the spider goddess. A gripping, roller coaster of a novel
The twins, their perspectives and desires are fascinating. they each see their home, their family and their culture through different eyes, but each reveals layers rather than something separate.
Their downfall is a trip to London, a gift from their father. The transformation of innocent, sheltered village girls by the evil underbelly of the city is horrifying. You won't want to turn the page, but have to because you have to know what happens to them and their friends as they enter the temple of the spider goddess. A gripping, roller coaster of a novel
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