Penguin releases a socio-spiritual story of self-discovery, based on Malaysia’s past and present. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Yalpanam: The Novel by Shivani Sivagurunathan follows the journey of Pushpanayagi, a 185-year-old recluse on the brink of a transformation.
Her past, long forgotten, long avoided, is catching up. When 18-year-old Maxim Cheah, disgruntled at home, aching for freedom, for answers about her life, arrives on an apparent whim at Yalpanam — the old lady's house — they begin an unlikely friendship that will give the girl a temporary home, and send Pushpanayagi whirling through space-time, back to the past.