Book Review – Handpicked by Siew Siang Tay

Australian Romantic Fiction From Varuna Award Winning Author

Apr 6, 2009

Seeking a better life, Laila leaves her Malaysian village home and journeys to Australia to meet Jim, a man she knows only through his letters.

Handpicked (Fourth Estate, 2009) is a gently told love story by Malaysian-born Australian author Siew Siang Tay.

Handpicked – An Unexpected Love Story

Set in Renmark, South Australia, Handpicked is a love story that explores how unmet expectations can stifle a relationship and the necessity for compromise and acceptance to enable a relationship to grow.

Seeking freedom from her longhouse home in a village in Malaysia, Laila joins a dating service and meets Jim, an Australian fruit-picker. After a year of corresponding, Jim proposes and pays for Laila’s airfare to Australia.

Meeting for the first time, Laila and Jim’s initial awkwardness gradually gives way to a shy attraction. This comes to an abrupt end when Laila discovers that the home Jim is taking her to is a caravan, as small and cramped as her Malaysian home.

Disappointed, Laila struggles to recapture her feelings of affection for Jim. Although both Jim and Laila work to make their relationship and marriage successful, their inability to understand the struggles of the other and see the need for change in themselves brings unhappiness and conflict.

With the help of insightful and supportive friends Marietta and Peter and the wisdom garnered from painful experiences, both Jim and Laila come to realise that they have allowed their disappointments to jeopardise their hopes of happiness.

Learning to Accept and Forgive

The perspective of Handpicked is shared by Laila and Jim, offering the reader insight into the thoughts, emotions and experiences that lead both central characters to make the choices that they do. This creates an equal empathy for both Laila and Jim, with the flaws, strengths and struggles of each equally revealed.

While Jim needs simply to accept that it is time for him to take more responsibility for his life and look to the future, Laila must learn that there is no perfect relationship and it is not the house or belongings that create a happy marriage, but the attitude of the people involved.

Laila’s discontent damages her friendship with Marietta and leads her into an abusive relationship. Thinking she has found everything that she wished she had with Jim, Laila finds not only her happiness but also her safety under threat. She discovers that true contentment comes from acceptance and being valued, rather than possessions and financial security.

Siew Siang Tay

Born in Malacca, Malaysia, Siew Siang Tay migrated to Australia in 1992 with her daughter. She currently works at the University of South Australia and was a recipient of the 2007 HarperCollins Varuna Award for Manuscript Development.

Siang Tay’s current project is a novel centred on the subject of parenting with a central theme of atonement.

A Touching Story of the Challenges of Love

This gently told story presents both central characters with their flaws and strengths and engenders empathy for both as they struggle to reconcile their expectations with the reality of their situation. The physical aspects of Laila and Jim’s relationship are shared with subtlety, however the brief scenes where Laila is abused by her lover are presented in a much harsher, more confronting style.

The South Australian landscape is an enjoyable setting and Jim and Laila’s story is one that touches the heart. Handpicked is a pleasurable read for anyone looking for a love story with depth and substance. Laila and Jim’s struggles are touchingly portrayed and readers will find themselves longing for both characters to find the contentment and sense of belonging that they seek.

The copyright of the article Book Review – Handpicked by Siew Siang Tay in Australian Literature is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Book Review – Handpicked by Siew Siang Tay in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.