First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

When his grandfather dies, a boy named Jay travels south with his family to the property he left them, a once-flourishing farm that has fallen into disrepair. The trees are diseased, the fields parched form months of drought.

Still, Jay’s father, Jack, sends him out to work the land, or whatever is left. Over the course of these hot, dense days, Jay finds himself drawn to Chuan, the son of the farm’s manager, different from him in every way except for one. Out in the fields, and on the streets into town, the charge between the boys intensifies. Inside the house, the other family members confront their own regrets, and begin to drift apart. Like the land around them, they are powerless to resist the global forces that threaten to render their lives obsolete.

At once sweeping and intimate, The South is a story of what happens when private and public lives collide. It is the first in a quartet of novels that form Tash Aw’s masterful portrait of a family navigating a period of great change – a reimagined epic for our times.

Happy Friday everyone! Well, technically it is already Monday; from the end of the week to the start of the following week. During the weekend, I was again out on an adventure; it is the third consecutive weekend I was out. I guess it will also be the last, at least for the meantime. Anyway, my hiking group went on an excursion to the Batad Rice Terraces, one of the clusters that make up the renowned Banaue Rice Terraces, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although I live close to Batad—roughly two hours away—I had never been there before. Quite ironic, isn’t it? That was one of the reasons I didn’t hesitate to join the group on this adventure. There were apprehensions come D-Day due to the weather but everyone was determined to push through with the plan. Thankfully, the weather and the view did not disappoint. Batad gave us a visual feast and plenty of memories to treasure.

Woah. On another note, we just welcomed the sixth month of the year. I hope that June will be a good month for everyone. I hope it will shower everyone with good tidings and overall positive energy. This also means that we are nearly midway through the year. How time flies! Time flows naturally, with no regard for anyone. With that said—how has your year been so far? I hope it’s treating you well. I truly hope 2025 is going great for you. May it bring you favors and guide you closer to your goals. And if you’re still figuring things out, take your time. If your year has been difficult, I hope you experience a reversal of fortune. May positive energy, blessings, and good news flow into your life in the months ahead. I hope you achieve your goals this year—but more importantly, I hope you are doing well in body, mind, and spirit.

In terms of reading, I have several goals this yearThis might count as a midway check-in, but I’m glad I’m making progress. This brings me to my current reading motif. With the start of a new month, I was supposed to shift to a new theme. However, since I still have several books by Asian writers I want to read, I’ve decided to extend my foray into Asian literature for a bit longer—maybe until mid-month. One reason is that I recently acquired books from my Top 10 Books I Look Forward To List; these books, incidentally, were written by Asian writers. AAfter finishing Santanu Bhattacharya’s Deviants, I’m now reading Tash Aw’s The South. I hadn’t heard of either writer before, but when their books appeared on various Most Anticipated Books of 2025 lists, my curiosity was piqued.

The South takes readers to late-1990s Malaysia (the country isn’t named, but one can infer), where we meet Jay, the narrator and main character. He is the youngest son of Jack Lim and Sui Ching and has two older sisters. Following the death of Jay’s paternal grandfather, the family relocates south to a farm inherited by Sui Ching from her father-in-law. This inheritance is interesting, considering Sui Ching wasn’t particularly close with Jack’s family. Though dutiful, she wasn’t what they envisioned for Jack. He was a professor, and she had been one of his students. With a 15-year age gap between them, their union defied expectations. Still, Sui Ching managed to build a connection with her father-in-law—hence, the inheritance.

The family moved south to assess the farm, which they referred to as an orchard. In their absence, it had been managed by Fong, Jack’s illegitimate half-brother. However, the orchard had fallen into disrepair and was deemed worthless. In the South, the Lim family experienced the harsh realities of rural life. A persistent drought had ruined harvests, driving them into debt. Amenities were scarce, and even the nearest town had been devastated by the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The family struggled to adapt to their new environment. The transition from city life to the slow, grueling rhythm of the countryside was tough. But it wasn’t all bad—the change in pace gave them space to reflect.

For Jay, it was a window for an awakening. Jay, who was about to turn seventeen, found the change in routine a breath of fresh air. He found interest in helping the laborers. However, one person piqued his interest: Chuan, Fong’s dashing nineteen-year-old son. Jay was slowly gravitating toward Chuan. As a reader, this attraction is expected—the novel opens with Jay and Chuan having sex for the first time in the orchard. Their blossoming relationship becomes the novel’s emotional core. The build-up of palpable sexual tension forms the backbone of the narrative, while the historical backdrop of the late 1990s adds depth and nuance. These two main threads—combined with other minor ones—make me excited to see how Tash Aw weaves everything into a coherent and compelling story.

How about you fellow reader? What book or books have you read over the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy whatever you are reading right now. Happy weekend, well happy start of the workweek!