Set in 1990s Malaysia following the financial crash, it follows a family who move south to take over their inherited family farm. It’s very poetic, with lots of description of the surroundings. There is plot and meaningful events happen, but it can be written so quickly that you could easily miss it. Due to this writing style it does feel slow at times, but the second half definitely picks up, so persevere.

The Observer describes it well: “an exquisite, languorous novel about class and aspiration, family, and growing up.”

The first of a quartet of books — the author originally intended this as one epic novel, but then changed it to be four (probably South, North, West, East!)

This was the Booksmiths Soho House read for May and scored a 6.9 overall. I actually enjoyed it, though it got a very mixed reception in the room, which, as always, made for a great discussion. It wouldn’t be my top recommendation, but I’ll probably still read the next ones when they come out.