A socio-spiritual, time-travel Malaysian tale about the quest for wholeness

A close-up detail of Shivani Sivagurunathan's new novel 'Yalpanam', published by Penguin Random House SEA. Photo: Handout

A 185-year-old recluse haunted by the past, a teenager who seeks something more than her family’s wealth and a mansion, overgrown with weeds and memories feature in Yalpanam: A Novel, the long-awaited new offering by author Shivani Sivagurunathan.

Set on the fictional Coal Island (smaller than Langkawi but bigger than Penang island), regrets and disillusionment clash, swirl and dance among the old walls, staircases and gardens of a secluded villa, built by a British planter on a small hill many years ago.