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“ Historical fiction reminiscent of Pearl S Buck's the Good Earth, this beautiful tale about a woman who gave every ounce of her life force for family is a delight to read. Highly recommend this book.” (Nov 18, 2016) I felt like I was right there feeling her every emotion, imagining the food and atmosphere and really empathizing with the characters. “ This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. “ They say books are gateways to other places, this certainly was one of those and I encourage you to step through, you will not be disappointed.” (9 Nov, 2016) It's been a long time since I've read a book that tugged at my emotions, culminating in tears for a woman I felt I had grown to know.” (Oct 14, 2016) “ The rhythm of the words, the flow of the story, the tales that were shared - it all seemed so real. Excellent story, beautiful writing.” (Oct 10, 2016)
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“ One of those books you hope will never end and you feel bereft when you reach the final page. “ It bears a favourable comparison to Nobel-prize winner Alice Munro’s 'Boys and Girls'.Poetic beauty shines through her writing.” - Julienne Vipond, London Reader Magazine (Winter 2016) Laura Esquivel, author of Pierced by the Sun and the New York Times bestselling Like Water for Chocolate Author Selina Siak Chin Yoke's special magic draws us instantly and poignantly into Chye Hoon's epic struggle to preserve her family as well as her vanishing culture." Though uneducated, Chye Hoon goes on to forge her own destiny as a cook, famed for her savory kueh cakes. " In this vividly drawn, deeply affecting first novel, a spirited girl who is forbidden to attend school as a child is inspired by the warrior myths of her ancestral past told to her by her mother. Praise for THE WOMAN WHO BREATHED TWO WORLDS: The overriding message is one of hope and survival, and the book is a testimony to the power of food, friendship and family. My heart broke for them as their worlds changed forever, their dreams morphing as they acclimatized or succumbed to the forces of colonialism. Loosely based on her own family, each of author Selina Siak Chin Yoke’s characters breathes on the page. By the time Chye Hoon leaves girlhood behind and takes up the mantle of matriarch, I was deeply committed to following her destiny and that of her children, all struggling to find a place in a world that is increasingly shifting towards the West. My senses were bewitched by descriptions of sizzling garlic and burbling coconut milk, just as the portrayal of the young girl dreaming of her ancestors’ swords captured my heart. Like The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan, The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds did exactly that, allowing me to see through the eyes of young Chye Hoon, a girl of mixed Chinese-Malay heritage in late nineteenth-century British Malaya (currently Malaysia), and keeping me transfixed by her life’s journey until I closed the book some hours later. Some stories transport you across the world and through time to places and experiences otherwise unreachable.