Welcome to the first post of the Rumpus Book Club Blog, where a Rumpus contributor reads the book of the month and regularly blogs about his or her reactions. It’s the first move in a conversation that we want you to join. Today, Rumpus Film editor Jeremy Hatch on what he hopes for from the first book club pick, Citrus County, based on his recent one-night stand with Brandon’s first novel, Arkansas.
Have you received your copy of Citrus County yet? Are you already reading it? Let us know when you’ve started.
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I just read John Brandon’s first novel, Arkansas, not exactly in one sitting, but pretty close: late last night and early this morning, a sitting interrupted only by sleep, breakfast, and trips to the kitchen for coffee and gin — that’s gin at night and coffee in the morning, I hasten to clarify — and the book was in every way as wonderful as I’d expected, from the excerpt that appeared in McSweeney’s the other year. Reading a book in that way is like watching a really long movie, in this case, a humorously noirish one about two guys who get sucked into the drug trade in Arkansas. In fact it’s a lot like one of the Coen brothers’ early movies. People get killed with a casserole dish and a crowbar, and bodies are buried in the woods and a car gets sunk in a swamp, and the most likable character meets a bad end, and there’s love and lust and a guy who worries about his family. Basically everything you could ask for in a novel.
But to get back to the bit where I fell asleep. Right before I drifted off, I read the scene near the end of Part Two, where Johnna — who will eventually become a sexy nurse — is getting asked to resign from one of her first jobs by a manager named Toby. Who spies on her from his office, because he was “bewitched, smitten, whatever you wanted to call it. Instead of simply asking her on a date the first day she’d showed up at the warehouse, he’d let himself become ruined with obsession.” (Great line.) Then I fell asleep. The thing about reading a book this way, with eight hours of sleep for an intermission, is that it affects your dreams. I had a dream about my cat — who, it happens, is named Toby — and then I had this other dream where I was making coffee at some kind of office job. And, undoubtedly, a sexy nurse made an extended visit at some point, because I’m prone to such dreams. The point is, this is a very minor episode in the novel as a whole (it occupies a single page and has no consequences), and I would have forgotten completely about it had I not stopped there to sleep, and therefore read it a couple times.
So then, I got a surprise when I picked up Citrus County for the first time just now and read the back (it should be noted that, although you will have hardbacks, I was provided with a bound galley, and therefore your cover text may differ):
There shouldn’t be a Citrus County. Teenage romance should be difficult, but not this difficult. Boys like Toby should cause trouble, but not this much. The moon should glow gently over children safe in their beds. Uncles in their rockers should be kind. Teachers should guide and inspire. Manatees should laze and palm trees sway and snakes keep to their shady spots under the azalea thickets. The air shouldn’t smell like a swamp. The stars should twinkle. Shelby should be her own hero, the first hero of Citrus County. She should rescue her sister from underground, rescue her father from despair, rescue Toby from his life. She should make her destiny into a hero’s destiny.
Toby! That name again! So, is this meant to be the same character? Are these stories linked? Are we going to learn how it is that Toby the office manager got to be creepy? Or is it just that Brandon always liked the name and wanted to use it more in this book?
Arkansas was definitely a page-turner, by which I mean it intimated certain fates for its characters, often fates so dire that I was always flipping ahead to see what would happen, so that I could come back with their fates known and settle back into my absorption with the text. Suspense tends to make me impatient, which I know is weird, but there you have it, and it often distracted me. But I always count that as a good thing, because if I’m that distracted by suspense, it means I care about the characters a lot, which isn’t so easy to do.
What can I expect on that score from Citrus County? The back-cover text doesn’t seem to promise a suspenseful read. It seems to promise some kind of coming-of-age story centered around a girl named Shelby. Which I’m really looking forward to, given how great Brandon is with description, and these memorable cappers of his like “ruined with obsession,” these little tossed-off, pithy lines that perfectly evoke a character or a setting or a situation, and often make you laugh too. Here’s another one of my favorites from Arkansas: “The only advantage cops had was time; they waited and waited, not even knowing what for, and then eventually you screwed yourself.”
So these are my expectations for Citrus County: characters I care about so much that suspense will make me impatient; a text full of dead-on evocations and memorable phrases suitable for quoting; dark humor; and something about a kid named Toby, who may or may not bear any relation to the office creep of Arkansas.
The book is divided into three basically-equal parts (Part One is a bit longer than the other two), so I’m planning to do three posts about the book, one about each part, over the next two weeks, leaving several days between each one. The final post will go up several days before the author discussion, so you’ll have plenty of time to gather your thoughts and discuss them if you like, before meeting John Brandon himself in a chatroom.
So, to you. Have you read Arkansas? If so, how is that informing your expectations of Citrus County? What do you think of John Brandon’s writing? Let’s discuss in the comments.
29 responses
My first-born’s name is Toby. I can’t wait to get started. This will be my first John Brandon experience.
Great first post. I was also a big fan of “Arkansas,” and am eagerly awaiting the new book in the mail. Crossing my fingers that it comes this week!
Haven’t received Citrus Country yet.
It looks like we’re at about 50% for people who have received the book vs. haven’t. Seems like it hasn’t got to people on the west coast yet. Hopefully by Friday.
No book yet.
(I’m in Montréal, Canada.)
Received it to-day. Wouldn’t normally post that tid bit, but I think I read a request to do so (although I am drunk at the moment, so who knows.) Minneapolis. Not to steal Jeremy’s thunder but… I will also blog about it. I feel like the recently engaged at a sister’s wedding.
No thunder-stealing worries whatever, Travis. Post the link and I’ll gladly include it in my next post.
I started in on it yesterday. What TOby said to the kid who was bitching at him for littering just horrified me. Not sure if he will win my sympathies back after that, I thought what he said was pretty evil. So already it sets up a need for redemption–which I expect will be frustrated, as the contrary tone of the book seems to imply so far. Certainly has my interest though.
Got Citrus County yesterday. Plan on starting it soon and posting sporadic thoughts at my blog. This is so cool.
I received my book today– I’m a good portion in and can’t wait to discuss it! Will there be a separate post for the discussion? How is this working, exactly? Anyone else ready to talk about it a little?
Hi Nancy. You can talk about it here. There will be a separate URL for the book club discussion with the author, which, by the way, is scheduled for 6pm Pacific time June 24.
Hey, Just posted some thoughts on Part 1 (http://tiny.cc/1skm0). Really enjoying it so far!
No book yet (I’m in Bklyn) but look forward to reading it (though it may interrupt my Geoff Dyer read!). I do wonder if there could be a way to alert us all (via email list?) as to when discussions start or when the book(s) has mailed, etc or are we meant to just visit the site and check in from time to time?
Just received Citrus County in the mail today. First of all, does anyone else think the (completely charming and utterly cool) cover is reminiscent of Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew covers…the vintage ones from when I was a kid, that is? Looking forward to getting started. I love this book club already.
Some thoughts on Part 2 (http://tiny.cc/kqjzx).
And Part 3 (http://tiny.cc/oym5g).
Got it in Palo Alto on 6/10. Yes, Darren, you are not alone in fondness for the Hardy Boys homage cover. Also the idea that it is a “rectangular”. I’m through Part 2. Had trouble putting it down last night and am a bit tired today. Don’t really know what to say right now. Not sure it would be positive, so I want to finish the book before I comment.
Got the book last week, finished it already. No spoilers here (I’ll wait for everyone to at least have the book in hand).
However, I will say that I kept waiting for the story to either pick up its pace, or for some of the characters to develop more. It’s like the author populated this incredibly detailed world with people who we never really find out enough about to feel engaged by any of them.
More to say later after the discussion develops more and people read further.
received book. very cool. have placed her in the stack. hope to get to soon.
Got the book at the end of last week. I was absolutely reminded of old Nancy Drew covers when I got it.
Book received last week (Washington, DC) and reading initiated. I am about half way through the book and I am not at all sure where I will end up as a reader. Loving it? Hating it? Pitching it across the room in a fit of pique at the actions of characters I simply can not begin to like? Who can say.
I agree with Jenni. Only about 50 pages in because I can’t take too much of Toby in one sitting. The writing is lovely. But I do not want to know boys like Toby and can only pray hard that my daughters don’t ever. Meanwhile, I am posting this as a plea for future assignments with characters we can like!
: )
There are lots of characters you’ll like in The Surf Guru, I’m certain.
Thanks, Stephen, looking forward to it!
also some housekeeping…
I have yet to receive any emails despite signing up for book club and the Daily Rumpus at Google. Also, is there a way to set these blogs to receive new posts or notifications of new posts instead of continually needing to check back?
: )
Having been a troubled kid, I empathize with Toby even though I don’t like him for much of the time. That’s one of the things I like most about this book – the push/pull with central characters. I don’t want to embrace the characters, yet they are compelling enough to keep reading, and I find myself hoping that things work out for them so they will change and become more likable, which may or may not be possible.
I’ve just finished the book and, in response to what many of the posts here have said, I don’t think any of the characters are meant to be (or should be) “likeable”. Isn’t that part of the point? That no one is wholly evil or wholly good? There aren’t necessarily heroes and villians. Just a bunch of people trying to figure out how to save themselves every day.
I agree completely with Natale and Charlene. I was a troubled teen as well so maybe that colored my reading experience. I do not expect characters to be likeable but I do expect them to be sympathetic. If a character is totaly dispicable I find them one dimensional and uninteresting. I completely connected with the characters in this book. I thought the author captured teen angst and the feelings teens on the brink have really well.
I wonder if the kidnapping had any other significance other than showing us how close to the brink Toby is? And I felt the ending was a bit unsatisfying. Still thinking on that one though and don’t want to discuss details in case there are those still finishing up.
One other thing and this is totally a personal preference – I wondered if anyone else kept wishing the prose was a bit more sophisticated? Sometimes I felt I was reading a novel meant for a 17-19 year old.
Hey Laura,
For me, unlikeable and unsympathetic were the same.
I actually found the ending VERY satisfying because there was hope and redemption possible.
I also felt that the level of the prose was just right because the story really focused on the kids. I was curious, however, if he always writes like that.
: )
I live in Citrus County and my copy has been back ordered. Life is not fair.
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