Tash Aw's The South is a beautiful coming of age story. Jay, his two sisters and his parents spend some time at a failing farm down south which they inherited. At the farm, Jay shares a room with Chuan, who he immediately takes a liking to.

"In that moment, forever seems like a comforting notion. But at that age, what does either of them really know about time?"

I found myself unable to put this book down. Something about its atmosphere pulls you in and keeps this grip on you. I felt a deep sense of nostalgia and sadness throughout the whole book, despite it not really being a sad story. Any queer person will probably deeply relate to Jay and his first time navigating his identity and feelings.

The book focuses on a lot more interesting things. Jay's family each have their struggles, his mother most of all. Tash aw has done a great job at fleshing out every character in a relatively short amount of pages.
With the importance of the characters themselves it's easy to overlook the setting of the story. Set in Malaysia, it focuses on a lot of issues like the cause of climate change and the xenophobia against the Chinese.

This was a beautiful, somewhat melancholic but also hopeful coming of age story.

"This emptiness feels like hunger but Jay thinks that it is really a longing, though he doesn't know what he is longing for."

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a tender, melancholy coming of age story set in Malaysia just after the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. Jay Lim is the teenage son of an ageing maths teacher Jack and his younger wife Sui. There are unresolved tensions in the family that are gradually revealed. Jack decides to visit the farm that once belonged to his father and has now been bequeathed to his wife. The manager is Fong, a poorly-educated man who struggles to make a living from the farm as it declines in the face of climate change and underinvestment. When Jay meets Fong's son Chuan who is a few years older, he finds himself having to confront his own burgeoning sexuality.

I enjoyed this book as it is beautifullly written and evocative of the time and place, ie south-east Asia in the grip of crises both economic and environmental. It deftly describes poverty and the struggle to escape one's circumstances without becoming bogged down in social commentary. The gulf between generations and between the educated and uneducated is sympathetically depicted. The encounters between Jay and Chuan are tender and romantic and reminded my of Andre Acíman's 'Call Me By Your Name'.

My only quibble is with the ending which seemed weak compared to the rest of the novel.

I particularly enjoyed reading this, as it is set in the exact opposite environment to where I live - scorching hot summer holidays vs smoggy cold school autumn/winter. The structure also helped the prose flow smoothly, switching between characters and timelines. If I have one criticism, it's that I wish we had spent more time with the main character. It felt like the novel was just touching on a lot of issues, and I wanted to know much more, as I know next to nothing about Chinese migration to Malaysia, let alone the queer migrant experience there.

eh… this one was a bit of a letdown, if i’m honest :/ i expected to enjoy it far more than i actually did. the writing is quite strong & raw, perhaps a little too much at times, and i feel as though it was rougher than i expected; which isn’t a bad thing per se, but i wasn’t exactly in the mood for that sort of story right now.

✰ 3 stars ✰

​​​“​​Time is something to be endured; there is​ too much of it ahead of me. Why​ doesn’t time accelerate and propel you into a new age, when you can​ emerge a different person – stronger, calmer, more beautiful?​​”

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ The South is very much a story that depicts time and the changes it brings into our lives and our very being. It is time that is both ephemeral and transient, fleeting that makes the now so much more tangible than what we anticipate it to be. It is the time that we reflect on our past, our mistakes, our foibles, our sins, and our desires, that the Lim family weighs in on when they return to their long-forgotten farm in Malaysia - one which is a respite, as it is a hope to fortify the roots that are weakening from within.

​​“​​That was how memory worked; it was the opposite of recollection, never as strong as we thought it was, always relinquishing the instances that mattered most to us.​”

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Through alternating perspectives and a nonlinear narrative we get glimpses into various members - sixteen-year-old Jay as he ponders about his future at school and his relationship with his older childhood friend, Chuan, his mother, Sui, as she reflects on her marriage and the challenges and chances she took with her husband, Jack, wondering if there is anything she regrets, and Fong, Chuan's father, who has dedicated his life to keeping the farm afloat, and now realizing that with the passage of time, was it all for naught.

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ It is these little instances of possibility and reflection that depict some beautiful and oftentimes, some thought-provoking passages that almost glide through the narrative, as seamlessly as it alternates in the format of which the perspective is written. It is easy to get lost in their thoughts, their story, their contemplative emotions that captures so very subtly of how change in one's life is weighed in by the measure of time. It's -- moving, and yet, it's also a quiet book, in which, not much happens, but with the passage of time - people's thoughts and emotions are changing. And that is where the writing makes you feel those subtle wisps of change.

​“​​As long as you don’t cut down the tamarind trees, she laughs.
They’re old and sick too, you know.
She shrugs. But they’re still alive and still beautiful.​​​​”

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ I liked how Tash Aw ​captured the quiet intimacy of their surroundings​ - the silence, the stillness, the calmness, and the protective nature of it,​ as well as the harsh bleak failing of it​ that makes one wish to turn away from it. It is a contrast to itself, that is also pointed back at certain members of the Lim family - how it is the question of whether their future exists here or back home.​ At times, the lack of quotations was difficult to get through, but I understood then, that maybe it meant when they were speaking in another language. There are also some rather long-winded phrases; but the descriptive and meaningful topics it portrays makes it so much more insightful and impactful that it is easy to overlook it - almost washing over you.

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ Fong and Sui's thoughts conveyed a sense of longing and regret of the moments that have passed and never to come again. Jay's story was more than just a coming-of-age story of accepting his sexuality, but one that gently nudges him in a direction that may be a stern difference from the expectations of his rigid, if not conventional scholarly father's expectations.​'I was just about to turn seventeen,​ and at that age, what did I really know about time?​' The question of uncertainty of his own future that lies in the balance of where he wishes to see himself.

​“​​We feel as though our entire world changes when we get older, every object, every person, has been rearranged into some strange new configuration, but in fact nothing at all has changed.​”

​ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ There is one very moving comparison the author illustrated between Jay and Chuan that was so poignantly delivered that it captured the wish for a forever - for a love to last... I just thought it was beautifully done. Jay and Chuan's dynamic is tenuous, but brimming with hopeful anticipation - a longing for a connection - an understanding - a chance. 'What if it’s a boy? Who comes here because he’s yearning for another​ boy?​' There is that uncertainty of expectation, along with their own social standards that divides them, but to crave for a forever, when change is not in their grasp is a bittersweet, but tangible feeling...

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ And the way the story concludes, it is evident that the Lim family's trials and journey is far from over. There is a resolute fierceness kindled in the spirited souls of those who have spent their time here; one that is both daring and determined to transcend beyond what they've aspired for. It makes me curious to know what direction their journey in life will take each of them.

*Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

An introspective, melancholic queer coming of age tale. I enjoyed how the author weaves beautiful descriptions of the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the farm and cultural context with the perspectives of different characters, playing with glimpses of past events and the choices that led them to where they are today. Despite this being a fairly short book I did struggle to get through it but overall found The South a thought-provoking and enjoyable read.

Tash Aw’s novel, "The South," tells a poignant story set against the backdrop of a struggling family farm during a particularly difficult season.

The protagonist, Jay, moves south after his family inherits a farm previously owned by his grandfather. The farm was managed by Fong and his son, Chuan. Now, Jay has relocated with his father, Jack, his mother, Sui, and his sister to this declining property. As the boys work the land during a drought, they develop a strong bond.

Their relationships reflect the harsh climate and the farm's productivity—or lack thereof. The connection between Jay and Chuan deepens as they labor under the relentless sun, contending with the tough realities of a drought that threatens their livelihoods.

Their interactions are beautifully woven with the environment around them, serving as a metaphor for the struggles and triumphs in their lives. Just as the parched land reveals its starkness, the characters navigate the complexities of family dynamics, resilience, and hope amidst adversity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing the advance reader copy.