The South by Tash Aw
Jay and his siblings pack up the car for a journey down South to the farm their mother’s recently inherited. Turns out ‘farm’ is a generous overstatement as the recent drought has wiped out anything worth selling, but nonetheless Jay is put to work out in the fields by his overbearing father, where little reward comes from hours of working the land in the punishing heat. If it weren’t for Chuan teaching him the ropes, what a waste of a few weeks it would turn out to have been. Jay’s world is just opening up and Chuan is his induction into a different way of existing outside the expectations of his immediate family.
The first in a planned series of four interlinked novels, The South sets up the story of a family in flux so beautifully, and in true Tash Aw style, with an incredible sense of place. You really feel for Jay in the oppressive heat of this single summer on the overgrown but unyielding farm in rural Malaysia, where he doesn’t expect anything life changing to happen, but that nonetheless becomes the setting for one of the defining moments of his life. I can’t wait to read the next three books in this reimagining of the epic novel – Laura
*Don’t miss our event with Tash Aw on Tuesday 18th February – click here for more details*
Another Marvelous Thing by Laurie Colwin
I’m amazed to have only just even heard of Laurie Colwin – appropriately described as the Barbara Pym of 70s New York.
I really enjoyed this. It’s got all the makings of a smart and witty Nora Ephron rom-com, you could even say like an 80s Sally Rooney, and could easily be for fans of Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Strout.
The story follows Billy and Francis who are in love and happily married, but to other people. They are embarking on an affair that they know feels so right and yet so simultaneously wrong. Billy is a slightly cold, level-headed character. She’s not interested in fashion, parties or nice restaurant meals. Francis on the other hand is older, sophisticated, and stylish. They are both total opposites and yet can’t deny that what they feel for each other is love, at the expense of their marriages to Vera and Grey. They meet regularly at Billy’s place, making love on the sofa in her little study when Grey is away, or meeting in the kinds of shady looking restaurants they would never normally go to, for fear of being seen.
It’s a very claustrophobic look at a relationship as most of the novel centres around only Billy and Francis. It’s very much about the experiences we have in life and the people we give ourselves to that make us who we are. But also about how we are so much more than the defined roles we give to ourselves, and ultimately how little you can really truly know someone. There will always be parts of ourselves we choose to keep hidden.
I can’t wait to read more Laurie Colwin that’s for sure. – Emma
*You can find all three Laurie Colwin recently brought back into print here*
Girl, Ultra-Processed by Amara Sage
In a culture that fosters the influence of diet culture, body image, and ridiculous beauty standards, Saffron Saldana is drowning. She’s always been curvy and she’s tried every diet under the sun. She’s surrounded by a mum whose only found happiness through getting thin, a friend with a successful weight loss journey, and boys who keep shutting her down or only like her as a dirty little secret.
But this New Year’s Eve is when everything will change. She will stick to her diet. She will move out of her mum’s house. She will go to her classes in person… until she’s thrown off her axis when a boy on a dating app ghosts her as soon as he sees her picture.
Amara Sage’s second YA novel is a searing look into diet culture, social media toxicity, and self love. I’ve never felt so seen and vulnerable while reading a teen book. Amara voiced thoughts that I thought only I had. And while she’s poking into these harsh aspects of our society, she also lets self love shine through her story through side characters that help Saffron find a love for herself that she didn’t know existed.
We need more of these self love, self care, self appreciation stories for teens (and adults), and I think Amara Sage just hits the nail on the head with this story! – Hannah