Handpicked

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.