The pleasure of reading Tash Aw lies in his ability to create intimate moments between characters and their surroundings. His short memoir, Strangers on a Pier, served as my introduction to Aw. The prose was sparse, breathable, inviting you to slow down as he navigated you through his family history. Similar themes of belonging and relationships are found in his new novel, The South, the first instalment of his quartet.
The novel follows 16-year-old Jay Lim and his family, father Jack, sisters Yin and Lina and mother Sui, as they visit a beaten-down farm passed down to them following the death of Jay’s grandfather. There, they meet up with Fong, a relative who runs the farm, and his 19-year-old son Chuan. Against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, we follow the family as they reflect on the past and navigate their options for the future during a period of great change.
Masculinity is a prominent theme in the novel, embodied by Jay’s father, who represents the traditional head-of-the-family archetype. When the Lims arrive at the farm, Jack “resents having to ask Fong for help, especially in front of the children” when struggling to open the car boot. Jay notes he “always felt a great relief whenever my father is gone”. Jack is the one who sends Jay out to work on the farm because “some physical work will toughen you out”. He later checks Jay’s legs for scratches as proof of his labour. It’s outside on the farm where Jay meets Chuan. The two are drawn to each other, and their budding friendship quickly blossoms into a sexual one.
The core group of characters are split across two generations, and Aw tackles this distinction head-on. The younger characters are often outside, exploring their environment, whether that be going deep into the farm, swimming in the lake, or eating at a night market nearby. Despite turbulent times, there’s a sense of optimism. Chuan dreams of leaving the farm for a big city to make money. Jay, Yin and Lina aspire for independence from their parents.
There is an unspoken tension at the house where the parents, Jack, Sui and Fong, are frequently found. Jack is the centrepiece of the trio. He’s stoic, quiet. Vivid displays of emotion are found almost entirely in flashbacks written from Sui’s or Fong’s perspective. Perhaps Jack will evolve into a more dynamic character across the quartet, but in The South, his story arc remains unresolved.
It was a cold February evening when I attended Aw’s book launch in Foyles’ flagship store on Charing Cross Road, London. He spoke with poise and answered questions from the audience with kindness, even ones critical of his historical knowledge on the lived experiences of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia, a life he has experienced firsthand. His original intention was to write a family epic. Think East of Eden by John Steinbeck or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. A long, sprawling novel about a Chinese immigrant family that spans a period of time. But he decided against it for two reasons: he no longer had the appetite to read such a book, and he described these types of books as “quite hypermasculine”.
Perhaps this decision will pay off in the long run. The South lays a strong foundation for the Lim family’s saga, but as a standalone novel, I worry it may leave readers with more questions than answers.
Words by Julian Amani
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