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A review by jmcphers
Citrus County by John Brandon
3.0
Citrus County is a book set in a small town.
If Citrus County were a movie, it would be one of those indie flicks that makes runner-up at a film festival: long, introspective shots of people standing and thinking, processing; a soulful soundtrack by a guy with a sorrowful and gravelly voice; a cast of fundamentally flawed characters who experience tragedies and grow somehow, or don't.
This book is full of interesting people, but they're all almost the same under the covers. Every one of them is trying to answer the same question: whether life happens to you or whether you happen to life. People do some strange things just to prove that they are in charge of their lives, that they are the ones making things happen and are not being carried along by fate or apathy. They do other strange things to prove that they *are* something, that they have some characteristic. It's fiction, but it's what we do every day.
The story somehow manages to be a page-turner, but not for the right reasons. Some awful things happen, and then the author almost seems to have forgotten that they did, and you have to remind him that there's a terrible subplot going on and would he please get back to it because you need to know if things are going to be okay.
If nothing else, this story is truly unique: I have never read anything quite like it. The prose is fresh and confident and full of insight. I liked it.
If Citrus County were a movie, it would be one of those indie flicks that makes runner-up at a film festival: long, introspective shots of people standing and thinking, processing; a soulful soundtrack by a guy with a sorrowful and gravelly voice; a cast of fundamentally flawed characters who experience tragedies and grow somehow, or don't.
This book is full of interesting people, but they're all almost the same under the covers. Every one of them is trying to answer the same question: whether life happens to you or whether you happen to life. People do some strange things just to prove that they are in charge of their lives, that they are the ones making things happen and are not being carried along by fate or apathy. They do other strange things to prove that they *are* something, that they have some characteristic. It's fiction, but it's what we do every day.
The story somehow manages to be a page-turner, but not for the right reasons. Some awful things happen, and then the author almost seems to have forgotten that they did, and you have to remind him that there's a terrible subplot going on and would he please get back to it because you need to know if things are going to be okay.
If nothing else, this story is truly unique: I have never read anything quite like it. The prose is fresh and confident and full of insight. I liked it.