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A review by jkrnomad
Touching Earth by Rani Manicka
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