South

by Babak Lakghomi

South is a haunting and hallucinatory reimagination of life in a world under totalitarianism, and an individual’s quest for truth, agency, and understanding.

B, a journalist, travels to the South of an unnamed desert country for a mysterious mission to write a report about the recent strikes on an offshore oil rig. From the beginning of his trip, he is faced with a cruel and broken landscape of drought and decay, superstitious believers of evil winds and spirits, and corrupt entities focused on manipulation and censorship. As he tries to defend himself against his unknown enemies, we learn about his father’s disappearance, his fading love with his wife, and his encounter with an unknown woman. A puzzle-like novel about totalitarianism, surveillance, alienation, and guilt that questions the forces that control us.

Genres: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fantasy, Short Stories, Iran, Literary Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 2023

About the author

Babak Lakghomi is the author of South (Dundurn Press, 2023) and Floating Notes (Tyrant Books, 2018). His writing has appeared in American Short Fiction, NOON, Electric Literature, Fence, Ninth Letter, and The Adroit Journal, and has been translated into Italian and Farsi. Babak was born in Tehran, Iran, and currently lives and writes in Toronto.

Reviews

[Glenn Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harrowing, haunting, and, at points, hallucinogenic.

South is Babak Lakghomi's gripping novel about a journalist traveling south on assignment from an unnamed city to investigate what's happening on the oil rigs in the Persian Gulf. Although the city is probably Tehran and the country Iran (the author, who currently lives in Toronto, was born and raised in Tehran), both go unnamed, thus bestowing a strong element of universality, touching on the allegoric and even mythic.

En route, the narrator, B, spends a night with a family in a remote village where he encounters a ritual. Just outside the house, there's the sound of drums, a fire, women in veils looking like “crows with metal beaks,” and men in white clothes waving bamboo sticks dipped in the blood of a decapitated chicken. The men are circling a man on his knees, his head covered in a white sheet. The kneeling man convulses and screams. B witnesses an exorcism performed by the father of the family where he's staying. The father then walks around the circle, looking into everybody's eyes, and sprinkles water on their faces. The father moves to B and rubs the cold palm of his hand over B's head, then speaks: “Beware of the south winds.”

The next morning, B opens his suitcase and, with more than a tincture of irony, brings out a copy of The Book of the Winds he found in a used bookstore that reads like “an encyclopedia of mental illness written in a tone shifting from that of an old medical text to a holy book, its pages yellow and disintegrating.” Throughout his tale, the narrator inserts not only quotes from this occult volume but also snippets from his own notebook and notes as well as from his father's notebook. This intertextuality adds depth and intensifies the overarching mystery that B is attempting to penetrate.

And what's life like in the south? B provides us with examples of extreme brutality, cruelty, and privation. This is a world where drought is so severe that parents must beg for water to prevent their children from dying of thirst, a world where industrial strikes are an everyday occurrence, prompting tear gas, batons, and the disappearance of union leaders, and once B is on an oil rig, a world reminiscent of Kafka (one of Babak Lakghomi's prime influences) where exhaustion, claustrophobia, fear, and suspicion permeate the all-pervasive, sinister atmosphere, driving one poor worker to douse himself with gasoline and set himself on fire. Anyone offering the slightest resistance is removed, never to be seen or spoken of again. B also relates a stroke of black humor: in the cafeteria, the sullen, overworked workers eat their tasteless food in grim silence while the TV is set to the comedy channel. And, as might be expected in our drug saturated society, the nurse dispenses pills so that employees can work harder and, during off hours, numb themselves, allowing them to at least survive the savagery. To top it off, there's talk of dwindling demand for oil and decreased company profits, hence layoffs, which in turn means workers and their families facing starvation.

B wonders why he, a freelancer, was the one chosen by the Editor for this assignment. Why didn't the Editor choose a journalist on staff? Did it have to do with his previous writing about environmental devastation and the extinction of the painted stork? Or does it relate to his father's activities as a former union leader and political activist, a father who mysteriously disappeared when he was a boy? Or perhaps it's about the book he's currently writing about his father? No answers are forthcoming, but one thing becomes painfully clear: he's been lured into a trap, a game where he's kept in a haze about the nature of the players and the very game itself.

Aboard the rig, B has a glimmer of what will unfold as he's plunged into an ever-deepening nightmare. "I sat there alone at a table with my food, watching the other men eat without talking to each other. Here, there was no sign of the strikes and protests I had heard about from the Editor before my departure. Everything seemed in order, as you'd expect from the Company, a shiny surface hiding the rot underneath." Eerie, eerie. Turning the pages, we can detect echoes of K. and the Castle in B and the Company. Moreover, in our current day, to what extent is this Company related to a totalitarian government and the network of multinational corporations? B seeks to uncover the truth, but what are his chances of success when he's up against overwhelming forces of power, control, and greed?

Added to the drama, there's B's shaky, sliding relationship with his wife, Tara. In addition to their strained marriage, B relates what Tara had to say about her office job in the days prior to his excursion south. “You think I like doing it?” she said. “Only ten percent of what I do every day pleases me. By the way, I don't think I am any different from others. That is life for most people, if they're lucky.” Quite the statement about our modern society: the vast number of employees have no real, meaningful connection with their work; rather, they simply show up for a paycheck. Unlike his own dogged pursuit of the facts relating to his father, the Company, and the state, B knows Tara has little reason to remain in the country.

South is a page-turner. Along with the noir elements, an important feature must be highlighted: Babak Lakghomi's sparse prose and precision of language. The author acknowledges the influence of language-oriented writers such as Garielle Lutz, Diane Williams, and Ben Marcus. Here's one of many short, striking descriptions:

“The sun setting. Quiet sea. The rig looked like a chandelier made of wire. The cranes slanted like seabirds waiting for prey.”

Babak Lakghomi's novel speaks directly and powerfully to a modern reader, a novel not to be missed.




Author Babak Lakghomi from Tehran, Iran currently lives in Toronto

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

The whole whats really happening approach for this novel had me reading on quickly. I needed to find out where it was going to lead to or what it would uncover.
I felt the main character was confusing yet really intriguing. His mind would go in so many directions and the story would twist so much but still it had me hooked. The complex relationship between him and his partner worked very well within this story. I felt for him throught this book.

The short sentence construction was a little off putting but overall i enjoyed. It was mysterious, errie in bits and the style was different to what i have came across before.

Many thanks to the Author, Netgalley and Dundurn Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date 12 sept 2023

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know a lot of people won't agree but this book reminded me of Kafka. All those twists and turns but all leading back to the same point. It never seemed to matter where the writer, B, went, he always ended up hiding or being held by someone. It's never clear who he is afraid of or what the authorities believe him guilty of. He appears to have written a subversive novel about his disappeared father but it isn't even clear what the novel consisted of or whether his father was kidnapped or if he simply left.

This novel is quite convoluted but, strangely, you never get that feeling while you're reading. It's oddly compelling and I could barely put it down but I've still no idea quite why.

[Thomas Kendall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in exquisitely controlled prose ranging from the syncopative and percussive to the ambiguously haunting, Lakghomi's novel explores borders and thresholds and the indeterminate horizons where truth and power intervene upon one another in the peripheral visions of individuals approaching/searching for event.
It probably ought to be illegal to cite Kafka in the review of a modern writer but South earns the comparison, modernising the metaphysical for the political, a sort of Kafka and the Unions.
By cleverly delimiting the POV Lakghomi allows the narrative to be lost in loss, engulfed by machinations both immediately personal and beyond one's ken. In 'South' the personal and the political are neither separate nor one but rather a series of faultlines quaking upon one another in which the limitations of comprehension are written into the very structure of the landscape. Lakghomi provides a clarity of emotion/feeling regarding the approaching future.

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is harrowing. The narrator's grim world and dilemmas are perhaps not that unfamiliar these days. Lakghomi's writing is clean, but could perhaps be tighter. As a Brian Evenson fan, I appreciated the labyrinth of deception and paranoia.

[johnny ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

when you think of a contemporary novel that has great social commentary, exquisite diction, captivating imagery, beautifully written characters, and a message that will haunt you for the rest of your life, you should think of this novel from babak lakghomi. b is a man with a strained marriage who wants nothing more to be published. he travels to an oil rig and assimilates into the population of employees. the culture of the southern people captivates him, and he is desperate to know why his father came here, then left b and his mother forever. b writes, he is first and foremost an author, but he soon learns that an honest first hand documentation of life on the rig and the abuse of employees might lead to his death.

it has been a long time since a novel truly shocked me and made me question consumption of products harvested unethically. “south” made me question my duty as a writer. the prose is expertly written; it truly grips you. i read this in one sitting, desperate to know what was going to happen next. lakghomi is incredibly talented, and i cannot wait to read more from him. read. this. book.

many thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review! i am truly grateful to be an early reader of what i believe will be a novel that wins many, many awards.

[Sookie · Rating 3 out of 5]

In South , we follow B, a freelance writer/journalist who is writing a story about an oil rig. He travels through a desert, a dry land with outliers managing through the heat and dry air that is slowly draining them of life. Lakghomi doesn't say much about the world but shows his readers the bleakness of this time with B's interaction with the family he stays with as he drives to the rig. Amidst all this, it seems like their culture is still embedded in the whims of night, not that B would know or would report.

The plot isn't much a plot but B's experiences in this rig - his view of this place starts with his bunk mate and slowly spores from there. The rig is claustrophobic, and without a direct way to communicate with the outside world, the walls of the rooms seem closer and the smell, stronger. While reporting this report, he is also going through a private meltdown involving his marriage, the book he wrote trying to find his father and his insecurities flaring up as a writer.

In this short book, there is a lot going on and also its an immersive experience. We see the world and experience this world through B and his breathlessness becomes ours. I am, however, feeling a little shorted due to length of this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dundurn Press for providing me with a free copy of this e-book in exchange for an honest review.

[Joseph Schreiber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bleak portrait of an undefined time and place where environmental devastation, political unrest and totalitarian control have distorted the rules that once governed human engagement. At no point does this book spell out the details or flesh out the broader context, but it is clear that the protagonist has found himself caught in a net that reaches into his past, an intrigue that took his father away when he was young. Now, with a marriage that is falling apart, B accepts an assignment to investigate some labour disturbances on oil rigs working off the shore of a drought ridden, superstitious state simply known as the South and soon finds himself trapped in a hellish situation that quickly goes from bad to worse.
What makes this dystopia so effective is the empathetic narrative voice, the extremely spare style—every word counts—and the disturbing way a horrific future scenario (in the South) is closely tied to a world (back in the city) that looks all too contemporary.
A longer review can be found here: https://roughghosts.com/2023/08/12/da...

[Nelli Lakatos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was so unique and interesting I’ve never read anything like this before. It was weird in a good way, beautifully written and entertaining I really loved it! It’s exactly that kind of book that impossible to describe because you need to experience it.
I highly recommend reading this brilliant book, it’s just became my new favorite!

Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🍀 Release Date: September 12, 2023 🍀

[Amy Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book, it really freaked me out! Set in a totalitarian society in the south of an unnamed desert country, a journalist travels to investigate recent strikes by oil rig workers. As he attempts to find out more information he realises that his mission is not as safe and easy as he thought, and whilst dealing with his own personal issues he must battle to keep his sanity. Lots of the story takes place on an oil rig, and the scene setting is so good, claustrophobic and unsettling. The story is so gripping and haunting and I know I will think about it a lot. I’ve never read a book quite like it, and feel like it’s going to be hard for me to recommend this well without telling you too much!

Book aesthetic:


Accessibility:
It’s written in the first person past tense, and I found the language really easy to read and follow. It’s a relatively short book (under 200 pages), and I really liked the way barely any of the characters had names, they are just described by their job roles.

Really really recommend getting this when it comes out, the release date is September 12th 2023!

4.5 stars rounded to 5 ! :)

[Raheleh Abbasinejad · Rating 4 out of 5]

یکم چون چند تا کتاب رو همزمان میخوندم طول کشید، وگرنه خوشخوانه. نظر کلیم اینه که در نهایت کار خوبی از آب دراومده. فضاش ایرانه ولی ایران نیست. یه فضای امنیتی و شدیدا سیاست‌زده و پر از سرکوب و سانسوره که مکان و زمان مشخص نداره.

معلومه از دل ادبیات ایران دراومده ولی همونقدر هم فضاش کافکاییه. و نزدیک به ادبیات اروپاست. فکر میکنم اون چیزی که مدتها از یه نویسنده ایرانی که برای مخاطب خارجی مینویسه انتظار داشتم بالاخره پیدا کردم. داستان گفته بود. سبک خودش رو داشت و زور نزده با چای و زعفرون و بته جقه، گزارش فرهنگی بده به جای قصه‌گویی.

[Greta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply upsetting. disorienting heartbreaking and truly terrifying. I could not put it down.

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The shadow creates fear, but they're the most fearful ones. Fear necessitates compromise."

South by Babak Lakghomi is an engrossing, absorbing mystery set in a stark, withering world. 

South begins with narrator B traveling out to an oil rig in an unnamed country, tasked with writing a report on union strikes. From the moment B steps foot on the rig, he feels a sense of loss, of isolation and of being unwelcome. His only communication with those off the rig is by a complicated messaging system, and his correspondence with his distant wife and critical editor only exacerbate this. As he starts to ask more questions and explore deeper into the truth of what's happening on the rig, he's reminded of the holes in his own life, broken relationships and his father's unexplained disappearance. With every passing moment, he develops more and more distrust toward those around him and what they want from him. 

From the first page, Lakghomi establishes an unsettling, stark world. At under 200 pages, this relatively short book packs a big punch. Told in a confident and concise voice, Lakghomi's choice to tell the story as a stream of consciousness works well to frame and build tension and suspicion as the events unfold around and to B. Themes of myths, conspiracy, surveillance and control add to a recipe that builds the tension to a boiling point. 

Almost every character and location are referred to generically (specific names are not given), which makes the fact that B refers to only his wife Tara by name meaningful and telling. The lack of specificity in all other things creates a mystery, almost seeming like B has intentionally censored every detail but Tara, the way one would only share what they want others to hear.

If you're looking for something new, unexpected and unpredictable (by a Canadian author), give South a try. 

[David Kuhnlein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riddled with bureaucratic strangleholds and miscommunications, South is indebted to Kafka in the best of ways.

Full recommendation here: https://xraylitmag.com/david-kuhnlein...

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eerie yet intelligent, if that makes sense lol. This is the type of book that grabs you right from the start, and you won’t let up until you’re done

[e-Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review**

South hooked me from the first pages and didn’t let me go until the end. The publisher describes the story and writing as hallucinatory and it was indeed the case. The novel reads like a fever dream, reality melting with memories, images, and dreams in a paranoid swirl until the narrator (and the reader) can’t tell what is true anymore. Sold as a commentary on totalitarianism and the surveillance state, the novel lives up to its promise, all the way until the open ending that leaves you guessing whether our narrator will “win” against the state. The secondary theme around the duty of artists, writers, and creators was an interesting one too: how much does your art matter to you? How far are you willing to go to keep creating, even if it means you’ll get in trouble for it?
The writing itself is dry and to the point, while still delivering the right amount of imagery and worldbuilding, the stuffy, paranoid atmosphere of the oil rig, the scorched deserts of the South, the small, gray life the narrator returns to.
Though I don’t think this book is for everybody, it’s a great novel for fans of Kafka and Orwell, for readers who enjoy political dystopias, reflections on the current political and environmental climate, and the role of artists against dictatorships.

[Kate Wyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Atmospheric, ambient dread. Cinematic portrayal of the surreal brutalism of a surveillance state. A24, buy the movie rights!

[Arevik Heboyan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"South": The work of fiction by Babak Lokghomi is a solid rating of 4.25 from me.
Being a reimagination of life under the totalitarian regime, frankly, it is hard for me to rate the author's work, it feels like the work has a solid memoir-like base.
***Plot/Structure-5 points
***Characterization-4.5 points
***Prose-3 points ( granted the author mentions that the writing is very dry, which was pretty fitting for the work)
***Setting- 4 points ( personally would love to have a bit more folklore woven into work, like the idea of menmenda)
***Enjoyment-4.5 points ( just for my personal taste, descriptions like "horny" and such are not more enjoyable, but that is a very personal preference)

It reminded me of the work by Y. Zamyuatin, "We", which is also exploring life under a totalitarian regime, the "seductive agents" regime places to control people, and at the end the death of fight and opposition.
Also, Azar Nafisi's work "Read dangerously" is a very alike memoir, if one wishes to dive into experiences different authors shared.
The symbolism of the wind is veiled in every aspect of the work, which in my understanding the allegory of unrest, and resistance against radical regimes.

***Review with spoilers***
The work portrays the life of different classes, workers, intellectuals, fishermen, and such under the totalitarian regime, their struggles, ways of control and breaking personal will by totalitarian governments, and the physical and intellectual, emotional abuse one faces under such regimes. Rumors, sudden disappearances, and demoralization of character are the tools of the regime.
The work, in my opinion, also touches on the problem of people accepting revolutions ( in this case allegory of the author's assignment) and the optimism and minimal info people have when throwing themselves into the new regime.
The work portrays tools of control- one's usage of only approved canals of information interchange with the world, extreme censorship, tracking of every single cell of the society, the limitation of very basic resources of life, and breaking a person to the point of having no opinion or interest if you are not working for the regime, abuse of drugs to keep people "calm", the disappearances.
I appreciate the author mentioning the hallucinatory aspect of the work, it made my reading experience much better, as throughout the book you keep seeking answer whether what is happening is just a product of imagination, or not.

Would love to read more from the author. The work pretty much kept me on the edge of my seat.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

really enjoy babak’s writing, reminiscent of Kavan’s Ice and Kafka, but also those old computer games where you’d wake up in a room and have to click around the screen to find out how you got there, i’ll read anything he writes

[Annabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a second for the events of South to stew in my mind.

The novel follows B, a freelance journalist, who per the instructions of his latest assignment is sent to the south of his country to investigate the worker strikes that have been occurring at off-shore oil rigs. His journey was difficult as he cross the treacherous desert, passed superstitious villages and dealt with solitude, disappearances and surveillance at the oil rig.

The term 'hallucinatory' is perfect to describe the second and third acts of the novel, where chapters are occasionally interspersed with flashes of B's writing and hazy experiences that blur the line between imagination, memory and reality. It ends up meddling with your experience of time in the novel and causes uneasiness to settle into the crook of your neck as, like B, you begin to become paranoid of the south, increasingly uncertain of your grip on reality and numb towards the concept of truth. The staccato, bullet-like language is highly reminiscent of Mersault's voice from The Stranger by Albert Camus, which South has been compared to so it's a befitting comparison.

Thanks to Netgalley, Rare Machines and Dundurn Press for providing me with the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Erin Crane]

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.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I received ARC from Netgalley.

I would say I 100% enjoyed this reading experience. The wording is simple but cold and bleak, and the writing style is unique and interesting. The atmosphere building is great!

Lowkey I get pissed off how cowardly B is but I guess this man is really broken.

[TC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommended.

Review posted at Tzer Island book blog:

https://www.tzerisland.com/bookblog/2...

[DRugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel becomes increasingly disconnected to the point where I found myself losing interest. I liked the first half better because the story commentated on the social world, but as the story unfolded, it became more about internal perceptions and hallucinations.

[Claire Hopple · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book swallows you and digests you until you become more sentient.

[Ayre · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I personally didn't enjoy this book I don't think its necessarily a bad book, I was just not the correct audience for it. I hope that someone is able to read this review and, if they don't mind or even like the things I didn't, they discover a new favorite.

This book seems to be an autobiography written by a journalist in a totalitarian universe. The "writer" our main character, not the author, expects that the reader lives in his universe thus doesn't feel the need to provide backstory or world building. That doesn't bother me at all but many people need to know what's going on. The plot singles on this one man and we get no answers to the state of the universe or, really even, this mans personal fate. Its very open ended. The writer either has the confidence of a mediocre white man, he is dumb, or both because he never seems to realize his actions are likely to get him and many other people killed. This seems obvious to the reader even though we have no context of the universe. Again, this doesn't bother me and makes for an interesting story.

I really enjoyed the writing style. It was prose that read like poetry mixed with a little bit of insanity. I think this would make a really good audiobook. Overall the book felt intelligent, literary, and eerily relevant to where our own world might be headed. A modern 1984 with global warming and unions as the star instead of big brother.

That being said you might wonder why I didn't like this. That comes down to two things that are very personal dislikes. First, I never understood why some male writers feel the need to add scenes of masturbitory emissions to literary works. Is it for shock value? Because it does nothing but make me uncomfortable. If I wanted to read about masturbation I'd read smut or romance. I don't need to read "My semen in the water like a snake" suddenly in the middle of a novel about a governments abuse of power. The other thing that I hate reading about is cheating, which is a very personal thing, but again, based on the premise, I didn't expect to be anything resembling a relationship or romance in this book.

This is not something I'd widely recommend but could be great for the correct audience.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me a copy of this title. I was not required to leave this review.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Dr. des. Siobhán · Rating 3 out of 5]

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book.*

I had high hopes for "South" given the blurb / Netgalley description, but the fragmentary and enigmatic way the narrative progresses made it very hard for me to follow. I was invested in the story and ended up being disappointed. Apparently it's a dystopia set in America, there's totalitarianism and surveillance and fighting. Our protagonist is an unreliable narrator and journalist who is send to an oil platform to write about it but is more and more caught up in his own family history (that I never fully grasped!) and 'the system' using him in a very 1984 way. Honestly, I still don't understand parts of it and while the vibe was kinda cool, this is just another dystopia with an unlikeable, unhinged protagonist who thinks too much with his penis. I found him very unlikeable, felt sorry for his wife and I'm glad she got out. World building wise everything is left in the dark and while uncertainty and not really knowing is typical, it was too nebulous for me here. 3 stars

[Emily Whitehouse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as an ARC and was drawn in from the very beginning. With 1984 being my all time favourite book I was excited to read something compared to that novel and South did not disappoint.

The story follows along the main character B who goes to an oil rig to investigate the worker strikes. While he’s there some odd things start happening, people go missing, and he starts experiencing weird things.

As the novel goes on it gets more odd and B starts to experience some traumatic events, especially once he meets the Interrogator.

There were still questions I had in the end like what happened to his father but I also have some suspicions about how to answer that question as well.

The writing was very easy to follow and the story kept me captivated since the very beginning. The pacing was really well done and there was never a slow or dull moment within. This was a really great read and I just wish it could’ve been a little bit longer.

[Ian Mond]

South is a challenging, intense novel. It’s set in an unnamed country where the protagonist, a freelance journalist known only as B, is sent to an oil rig to write a piece about the conditions there. To say things go wrong from the moment he arrives would be an understatement. Very few are willing to talk to him; those who do disappear and a crew member immolate themselves. Alongside this, B, a barely recovering alcoholic, is struggling to keep in contact with his wife, his Editor or a memoir about his father, which the Publisher has heavily rewritten, cutting all the bits about his Dad’s activism. Lakghomi says this novel was written while Trump took power, and it shows, with objective truth, the victim of an authoritarian regime. It’s claustrophobic and discombobulating, and while it doesn’t say anything particularly new about the nature of truth and history, the declarative, terse prose creates an enclosed atmosphere reflective of the cells B is forced to live in.