In SOUTH by Babak Lakghomi, we follow B., a freelance journalist, as he travels to report on a oil rig in the south. This short novel had me hooked and I enjoyed the writing and the storyline overall, but when all was said and done, I was left with too many unanswered questions. I wanted to know more; I wanted a more clear picture of what was happening in the wider world. Where is the south? What is this totalitarian country? What is the state of the world at this time? How far into the future are we? I felt quite disoriented and as if I were in a fever-dream for most of this novel and I think that worked and was necessary, but I was frustrated by all of the guessing I had to do along the way.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this one!

3.5 to 4 stars
South follows the story of a struggling journalist B in a totalitarian state who sets out to investigate rumours of strikes and unrest on oil rigs. B sets out while leaving behind a marriage that is slowly unravelling and the ghost of his father who it seems, disappeared due to his stance as a dissident.
At times this is a difficult story to read as the narrative becomes disjointed to reflect the mental deterioration of B, but the story while bleak, is intriguing and engaging. The claustrophobic and unsettling environment of the oil rig is vividly portrayed.

This isn't a story that will appeal to everyone but is certainly a fascinating read.

If I was told to describe with just one word the new novel by Babak Lakghomi, “South”, it would be “whirling”. Febrile, frenzied, terrifying, brutally poetic, the last Lakghomi’s effort is a dystopia as claustrophobic as the spaces within the actions of the enigmatic protagonist are conducted. The novel rest on a structured founded on suspence and mystery, but it deviates, gaining introspective characteristic at the mental breakdown of B., the main character. “South” introduces several questions, suggests facts and events, disseminates clues, but a the end the knots didn’t get untied, but get tighter instead, even though there’s a perpetual transformation of situations and characters.
The string point of this book is the writing style, which is plain but incisive, capable to infuse the confusion and the fear, and the latter is what hides the truth behind a thick veil.
The theme of spiritual disease (i.e. those physical disorders provoked by a trauma experienced by the collectivity and by an existential crisis that broke the security mechanisms of social processes), frequently ignored by literature, is here the narrative thread and the frame for all the events occurring, and it’s one of the reasons I chose to pick this book.
“South” is an original story, with an incisive plot and characters well defined – even the secondary ones. Even though it left me not entirely satisfied by the conclusion, the new work by Lakghomi is worthy to be read and loved.

This one wasn't for me. I quickly lost interest in the story and characters. The writing itself seemed fine, but didn't flow well.

I got to 50% of this one so I’ll consider it read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This is about a reporter who travels to an oil rig to investigate union activities there. It has a surreal feel to start and only gets more so. There’s a story in here that I could really like because a psychological thriller is my jam. But I did not care for B’s perspective, and ultimately this felt jumbled and often quite dull.

I'm going to be honest, I only made it about 20% of the way into this book. The concept is intriguing and I may return to it someday, but the writing style is one that requires a lot of concentration and it's not the right time for that kind of book for me right now. If you're a fan of Cormac McCarthy, you may really enjoy the writing style, as it reminded me of the Road in certain ways. The book reads as a stream of consciousness and doesn't provide much context, so it's difficult to identify exactly what's happening.

Like I said, I may return to it someday when I have more time to concentrate on it, but for now, it's not my cup of tea.

I was really excited to read this book. It has such an interesting premise and I'm usually a sucker for a dystopia. A freelance journalist travels through a desert to write about an oil rig.

But what this really lacked was great execution. The writing style put me off. I never was able to be hooked to the story in the way that I wanted. There were some really great sections that I loved but the quality overall felt uneven to me.

Thank you netgalley and Dundurn press for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book started off really well and I was genuinely intrigued as to where it would go. I'm a lover of dystopia and I was interested in this strange future desert place which the protagonist found himself in, reporting on the goings on on an oil rig. He finds himself cut off from the outside world and is met with hostility and distrust by the crew on board.

However, the book quickly gets really difficult to follow. Sometimes it's unclear what are dreams or hallucinations and what is really happening. I was confused as to the rationale of some events or really why he was there to begin with and what he was supposed to be reporting. The ending of the time on the rig and his return to society feels quite rushed and unexplained. The motivations behind characters actions are not always clear and I was left wanting more in terms of character development and explanation as to the world he finds himself in.

All in all sadly not for me.

"My days diminished to the word count in the corner of a screen, Every day an echo of another. You had to listen hard to hear anything".

TW: suicide

South is a fascinating read. It's a horror story without the gore, the jump scares or the otherworldly activity. It's the horrifying possibility of what could happen if your government turned against you seemingly without warning and stripped you of your agency, breaking you down into a husk of who you were and without meaning.

We follow a journalist who was personally sought out to actively investigate the going-ons within a large oil tanker after multiple reports have leaked out into the real world. Initially motivated and ready, he is met with hostility and iced out by the majority of those onboard, including management and HR who are responsible for assisting with any messages to and from the outside world due to limited network and no access to personal items, quickly finding himself isolated from the real world. Our protagonist finds anyone he befriends or observes suddenly disappears, and mysterious behaviour increasingly occurs on board.

The plot gets messy quickly and as time progresses, we see only partial explanations and more questions raised. The reader is left to contemplate the implications of the novel - what would I do if this were me? How would I go forward? Could I protect myself or would I too risk crumbling into a shell of who I once was?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - when it's a Dundurn Press book, I know it's going to be a winner. I truly devour every book they put out that I can get my hands onto.

Thank you NetGalley for the Arc.

Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and author for granting me an e-ARC for this book.

I found dread and anxiety all over me whenever I read this book. Tells about B, who is a journalist/writer that want to get to know his father and wrote a biography of his father. He went to an oil rig that isolated from the outside world. He can't bring his own devices and have to go through other people if he wants to message someone. There are many tragic/traumatic events going on in the oil rig. Power and truth are the main concern of this book. I think the book is mainly plot driven and I can't talk that much about the characters/characters development.

Personally, it's hard to read because it had a strong almost graphic description, but I am not complaining that much.

This book had an excellent message. Stories like this seem less dystopian every day, and that makes them even more frightening.

South is described as “..a haunting and hallucinatory reimagination of life in a world under totalitarianism and an individual’s quest for truth, agency and understanding”. Full disclosure; I did not finish this book. I gave up about halfway through.

The plot surrounds a reporter who visits an oil rig in a desert country, in a dystopian future. Many of the usual features of these novels are present. Repressive governments, civil unrest, inequality, challenging climate, breakdown of institutions and families.

The scene is set in the early chapters and the nature of a barely function oil rig is feasibly presented. Character development is limited and just not enough to warrant completion of the book. I did not develop sufficient curiosity to find out who they were, how they ended up in the current situation and what was going to happen to them.

Let’s start with the positives. The pacing of this book and the somewhat chaotic protagonist ratchets up the tension throughout, disorienting the reader like any good thriller should. The setting in a vaguely familiar desert country with oil off its shores is a nice change from many dystopias giving moments that feel inspired by the Arab Spring.

On the other side, the writing is extremely general. There is very little character development which is more confused by the author’s choice not to name anyone, but the wife Tara and the protagonist B. All others are given monikers based on where the protagonist meets them. This can be an interesting choice, but we never learn enough about any character to care. The depiction of women is problematic and oversexualized. The imagery is simplistic, and the writing is very rudimentary. There is little to no craft, just a slog through the mind of a weak and uninteresting journalist that is afraid to talk to the very people he was sent to interview (again, could be interesting if done with style, but isn’t). The ending leaves the reader hanging, and not in a cliff sort of way, more like an I missed the bus and now I have to stand in the cold in 4inch heels kind of way.

Not may monkeys, not my circus. This one is a pass for me.

I don't think it would be fair for me to write a review on the story. I did read the book, but did not like the narrative. I couldn't get into it. It was well written, but could not hold my attention. I am giving 4 stars for the technical writing but not my enjoyment.
I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was something different that I typically wouldn’t gravitate towards. I think this book had a very important message to share. I was left with wanting more, more to the story, more to the characters.

Wow! What an amazing book!!
Would love to read more from the author.
Thankyou netgalley for the Arc!

Not every book is for every body. I wanted to love this but I struggled to finish it. It just didn't draw me in. That is not down to the writing which, for the right reader, will draw you in and keep you wandering about what is really happening.

I guess I felt mostly robbed from the description to the actual book I read. It had promise. I just wish it was something different.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. I just wish I could rate it higher.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #DundurnPress for allowing me access to this arc for review.

South is a bewildering read. It is set in a totalitarian state, author B, tries to uncover what is happening in the Southern oil rigs. We are in an unnamed state with no place names offered, which is quite disorienting at times.
As events develop on the oil rig and B gets closer to the truth, it all becomes very rigid and Orwellean.

Lakghomi writes sparingly, leaving the reader to question what's real and what's not. The magic realism of the wind spirits is a nice touch, adding to the confusion you feel on B's behalf. Revealing little of the actual known facts of the place B is in, evokes a feeling of empathy for B's predicament and disassociation.

For a short novel, South provides a complex, intriguing story. I'm still thinking about it now.

Wow—this book crept up on me! It drew me in, and did not let go until it was done.

This is the story of B, a writer who, at the beginning of the book, is driving south on commission to report on possible labour strikes on an oil rig. We don’t get a lot of detail about the country he lives in, but we start to suspect that something may not quite be right with the company that runs the oil rig. As soon as he arrives, B realises he is not welcome: the staff are hostile, and no one will speak to him. Back at home, things are also growing increasingly strange. Events escalate on the rig, and we are thrust, with B and the characters around him, into a surreal nightmare.

I put the book down an hour ago, and am feeling quite haunted by B’s experiences. Some of this is because of how relatable I found it: forced disappearances, enforced silence, and living under state rules that change unpredictably is quite familiar to me. Never really knowing if what is happening to B is real or part of a mental breakdown is a excellent plot device. In the end, it doesn’t matter; things resolve themselves into something understandable, and B is my hero.

I very nearly put the book down when I started reading because the writing felt quite amateurish; I am very glad I didn’t. A little like when you read *Flowers for Algernon*, the writing style changes as B’s experiences change. The surrealism/magical realism is exceedingly well-done, adding to the dream-like feel, along with ghosts, spirit possession, drug-like visions and hallucinations, and exorcism, all beautifully executed.

This has been a fantastic read. Thank you to Dundurn Press and to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thanks NetGalley for a copy of this book.

This book was not for me. I tried to read it three different times and finally stopped when I got 53% done. Since it is a short book, I feel really bad for not being able to finish but it was a struggle for me and was not enjoyable at all. I will leave a start rating but I am not sure it is fair since I didn't finish the book.