Earlier Fires

Earlier Fires chronicles the personal evolution of Adrian, a promising student, over 20 years as he leaves his prestigious New Jersey prep school to make his name in the competitive legal world of NYC’s corporate law firms. As a disillusioned 17-year-old, Adrian recognizes the entrapment of perpetuating his privileged socioeconomic status.

He excels academically but struggles to envision a purposeful future, feeling fate-bound to graduate high school and college before climbing the well-worn ladder of material success. Adrian grapples with whether meaningful relationships can endure in a culture consumed by globalized commercialization.

In his quest for purpose, he connects with Dominic, a like-minded rebel, and rekindles a childhood friendship with Delilah when she serendipitously re-enters his life.

Will Adrian break free from expectations to chart his own definition of achievement? Can these kindred spirits sustain bonds despite diverging destinies? Or will the cycle of reproducing class status subsume Adrian as its unwitting heir?

August Zhou was born in Singapore and has spent a considerable portion of his life living in between cultures and languages. He obtained his undergraduate education at Columbia University and a master’s in education for Secondary English at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. He is a writer not by training but by compulsion. His overdeveloped sense of nostalgia and his constant desire to see more of the world stand at odds with each other, though both are ways of visiting a foreign country.August’s blog can be found at www.revoltaliteracy.blog