Sweet Offerings

Sweet Offerings is not just a fictional story of the events that ripped one family apart, but a taste of Malaysia's historical, political and cultural changes during its transition from colonial rule to independence and beyond. "Chan Ling Yap's novel about a Chinese family spanning three generations evoke all the imagery of Malaysian life from the period before the second world war to the Emergency, Merdeka, and the present day. It was a time when wealthy Chinese men took on other 'wives', sometimes ill-treating them, but often a strong bond with a strict hierarchy grew between the wives. The story of Mei Yin is told with much sympathy ad insight - Her lessons in life include accepting a caring co-wife, dealing with an unfaithful husband, aborting an unwelcome pregnancy, being the subject of malicious rumours and being supplanted by a conniving gold-digger, but finally finding independence and self-esteem" Vimala Sarma

Chan Ling Yap was born in Kuala Lumpur. She was educated in Malaysia and subsequently in England where she obtained a PhD in Economics. She lectured at the University of Malaya before joining the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in Rome, where she worked for 19 years. She now lives with her husband in the UK. She has written several technical books and many academic and professional papers. Sweet Offerings is her first novel.