South, by Babak Lakghomi

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!

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 - my rating is 4.5 stars out of 5 :)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

South aesthetic - all photos from Unsplash