A story of hunger, loss, and stubborn hope, it follows a community pressed by drought, disease, and isolation, where the past lingers in every hut and memory.

The narrative centers on Punchi Menika and her struggle to survive after years of hardship. Through quiet, intimate scenes, the book sketches a world where home is fragile and the jungle is always waiting, shaping choices and fates alike. It is a moving exploration of resilience, memory, and belonging in a place where change comes slowly and danger hides in plain sight.

Vivid close-up of village life, its rhythms, and the bonds that hold people together.
Atmospheric settings that contrast harsh drought with the encroaching jungle.
Character-focused storytelling that centers on endurance, memory, and moral choices.
A contemplative mood with themes of home, displacement, and what it means to belong.

Ideal for readers who enjoy literary fiction with strong sense of place, historical settings, and intimate portraits of survival.

About the Author

Emeritus Professor Yasmine Gooneratne, D.Litt. (Macquarie), Ph.D. (Cambridge), BA Hons. (Ceylon), is a poet, novelist and author of studies of Jane Austen, Alexander Pope, Ruth Jhabvala and Leonard Woolf. Professor Gooneratne has been awarded honours including the Marjorie Barnard Prize for Fiction, India's Raja Rao Award for her outstanding contribution to the literature of the South Asian diaspora, and the Order of Australia for her services to literature and education.

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