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Handpicked
What is it like to give up everything you have ever known?To stake everything on marriage to someone you've met only through letters?
What is it like to stake everything on a relationship based only on letters?Laila is desperate to escape life in the longhouse in her Malaysian village. Desperate enough to travel alone to Australia to marry Jim, a fruit-picker living in Renmark, South Australia. Jim hasn't had much luck with women - they've always given him a hard time. He pins his hopes on Laila changing all that. Marital bliss, a new life.But when Laila and Jim finally meet, they each discover the reality of the other, and things don't go as planned. Handpicked is a subtle and sensitive exploration of the world of the mail-order bride. It is also a compelling and finely observed account of expectations and consequences, words and actions, truth and love.
What is it like to stake everything on a relationship based only on letters?Laila is desperate to escape life in the longhouse in her Malaysian village. Desperate enough to travel alone to Australia to marry Jim, a fruit-picker living in Renmark, South Australia. Jim hasn't had much luck with women - they've always given him a hard time. He pins his hopes on Laila changing all that. Marital bliss, a new life.But when Laila and Jim finally meet, they each discover the reality of the other, and things don't go as planned. Handpicked is a subtle and sensitive exploration of the world of the mail-order bride. It is also a compelling and finely observed account of expectations and consequences, words and actions, truth and love.
- GenresAustralia
341 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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23 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 4, 2012
This is an honest book. As an Australian myself, I recognise the characters as they've been accurately drawn, especially the "blokey" Jim. Telling this story is important. It's the story of many Asian women who come to Australia to escape the poverty of their homeland and marry socially inept men who have not succeeded in finding a partner among Australian women. Not all of these marriages are unsuccessful. However, many of them present problems both for the woman and the man.
While it's a straightforward account and an engaging enough one, the writing style could be more developed.
I was not convinced by the ending. It seemed like a trade-off and a poor one, and a betrayal in some way.
While it's a straightforward account and an engaging enough one, the writing style could be more developed.
I was not convinced by the ending. It seemed like a trade-off and a poor one, and a betrayal in some way.
March 13, 2017
An easy read. Tells it as it is, a bit boring but very realistic.
February 9, 2020
Read in a matter of hours. Not great but not terrible. I enjoyed the easy read.
December 18, 2012
Each time I come across a young Asian girl with an older Caucasian male couple (which is not a rare occurrence these days), I wonder what their story is. In fact, one of my childhood bestie married an older Caucasian male. I don’t particularly understand her choice but when she was living in Bali, she was dating (attracted to?) mostly older Caucasian males. This is, indeed, her choice and her personal taste.
Laila, however, felt trapped in a world she has come to despise. She longs to move on in the world; to not be poor, to be appreciated as the woman she is, as a person. When a new life in Australia presented itself to her, she will leave all she knows behind for what she hopes is a better future. When she arrives in Australia though, she found things were not what she expected it to be. And life doesn’t appear to be much better at all… And Jim is not who he presented himself to be in his letters…
Jim longs for that someone to cleave to. It’s no wonder really as to why he hasn’t much luck with women. He is a slob – full of good intention but without the will to follow through. Unfortunately, this seems to be due to his upbringing. He is, however, the typical Aussie bloke – easy going, loves his beer & footy and loves a laugh. He does not lie outright but instead wove a net of white lies and omissions of truth from which he cannot escape gracefully.
The novel was very easy to read. I found the language to be quite simple and yet, you could feel the heat of the summer, each breeze as it licked the skin, and of course, Laila’s angst and frustration. I was frustrated quite a lot with this novel: with Laila’s naivety (who am I to judge when I was pretty naïve myself!?), Jim’s failures, and the turn of the story.
Truthfully, I do believe this story is realistic and while it’s not the best type of story / outcome for a young Asian girl throwing herself into the big bad Western world, it’s also not the worst. There were a number of eye-rolling moments, wince worthy instances, and one harrowing incident but I can still imagine worst things that could have happened to someone like Laila. Overall, it was a pretty average read for me.
Laila, however, felt trapped in a world she has come to despise. She longs to move on in the world; to not be poor, to be appreciated as the woman she is, as a person. When a new life in Australia presented itself to her, she will leave all she knows behind for what she hopes is a better future. When she arrives in Australia though, she found things were not what she expected it to be. And life doesn’t appear to be much better at all… And Jim is not who he presented himself to be in his letters…
Jim longs for that someone to cleave to. It’s no wonder really as to why he hasn’t much luck with women. He is a slob – full of good intention but without the will to follow through. Unfortunately, this seems to be due to his upbringing. He is, however, the typical Aussie bloke – easy going, loves his beer & footy and loves a laugh. He does not lie outright but instead wove a net of white lies and omissions of truth from which he cannot escape gracefully.
The novel was very easy to read. I found the language to be quite simple and yet, you could feel the heat of the summer, each breeze as it licked the skin, and of course, Laila’s angst and frustration. I was frustrated quite a lot with this novel: with Laila’s naivety (who am I to judge when I was pretty naïve myself!?), Jim’s failures, and the turn of the story.
Truthfully, I do believe this story is realistic and while it’s not the best type of story / outcome for a young Asian girl throwing herself into the big bad Western world, it’s also not the worst. There were a number of eye-rolling moments, wince worthy instances, and one harrowing incident but I can still imagine worst things that could have happened to someone like Laila. Overall, it was a pretty average read for me.
January 12, 2010
Handpicked is a story about a Sarawakian girl, Laila, who travels to Australia to seek a new life. She desperately wants to leave her life in the Iban kampung and the longhouse in which her family lived in together with 30 other families, enough to give her the courage to pack her bags and fly off to be the wife of a man whom she has only known for a year, and only through letters.
When she arrives in Australia, she is at first awed by the man who is to be her husband, Jim. But not too long after, as they arrive to the caravan where she is to call home, she realises that all her dreams of red brick houses, beautiful lawns and white picket fences were only that - dreams. The Australia that she had imagined is not what she gets.
The story was pretty predictable. Laila meets another man, Sean, at a party and is immediately drawn to his good looks, good taste, and good wealth. Not too long after, she leaves Jim for Sean, only to find that Sean is abusive. But she sticks in that relationship for longer than she stayed with Jim (or at least, that's how the timeline felt like for me), until one fine day, with advice from a very good friend, she ups and leaves Sean. The both of them (Laila and Jim) then start mending their own lives. Jim finds himself a new job, and starts saving money. Laila leaves the women's shelter after a while, finds a job and rents her own place.
Overall, I was just not impressed.
When she arrives in Australia, she is at first awed by the man who is to be her husband, Jim. But not too long after, as they arrive to the caravan where she is to call home, she realises that all her dreams of red brick houses, beautiful lawns and white picket fences were only that - dreams. The Australia that she had imagined is not what she gets.
The story was pretty predictable. Laila meets another man, Sean, at a party and is immediately drawn to his good looks, good taste, and good wealth. Not too long after, she leaves Jim for Sean, only to find that Sean is abusive. But she sticks in that relationship for longer than she stayed with Jim (or at least, that's how the timeline felt like for me), until one fine day, with advice from a very good friend, she ups and leaves Sean. The both of them (Laila and Jim) then start mending their own lives. Jim finds himself a new job, and starts saving money. Laila leaves the women's shelter after a while, finds a job and rents her own place.
Overall, I was just not impressed.
October 13, 2009
I got a lot of enjoyment out of reading this book. The story starts off with Laila in her small Malaysian village. She is desperate to leave to a more comfortable life and has high hopes that going to Australia to be a wife to Jim, a fruit picker in Renmark (a small town in South Australia), will be all that she dreams it can be. She is devastated when she arrives in Australia to find that Jim is a bit of a pig and is not very well off and living in a caravan. Life is hard as she adapts to the Australian way of life and struggles to learn English.
Laila is a very likeable character and as the book goes on you can't help but want her to succeed and be happy. I found Jim less likeable. Sometimes you just want to shout at him to stop drinking and get a better job. Being from country Australia, I know the 'Jim' character very well. But despite all his bad points, he has some endearing qualities.
What I liked about this book is its not a fairytale love story, its real life. Sometimes things aren't what you thought they would be, but that doesn't mean it can't work out for the better. This book deals with issues that aren't really featured in a lot of books - mail order brides, cultural differences and domestic violence and as a South Aussie, its nice to read a book set in my own state!
Laila is a very likeable character and as the book goes on you can't help but want her to succeed and be happy. I found Jim less likeable. Sometimes you just want to shout at him to stop drinking and get a better job. Being from country Australia, I know the 'Jim' character very well. But despite all his bad points, he has some endearing qualities.
What I liked about this book is its not a fairytale love story, its real life. Sometimes things aren't what you thought they would be, but that doesn't mean it can't work out for the better. This book deals with issues that aren't really featured in a lot of books - mail order brides, cultural differences and domestic violence and as a South Aussie, its nice to read a book set in my own state!
October 3, 2014
I search for novels that envelope me and immediately place me in another time and mind. This story was an instant connect and I very much enjoyed following along on this unique journey and odd love story. Reading electronically makes it hard to know when the end of the book is edging closer so when I turned the page and was at the end I longed for more!
September 10, 2013
I agree with Ilyhana's comments, however I did enjoy the ending. I think it demonstrated how Laila grew as a person once she was able to take control of her life, and in doing so was able to choose the life that made her happiest, even though it wasn't perfect.
October 25, 2009
I really wanted to like this but I thought it was simplistic, unrealistic and I hated the ending. I am giving it 2 stars only because I think it is a good idea for a story - just not this story.
September 24, 2011
local writer ... nice to recognise the settings ... forgetable.
October 9, 2013
I can't wait for Siang's next book as Handpicked was such an inspiring novel and so beautifully written.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews