Status
Checked out
Publication
Riverhead Books (2015), 352 pages
Description
"The much-anticipated first novel from a Story Prize-winning "5 Under 35" fiction writer. In 2012, Claire Vaye Watkins's story collection, Battleborn, swept nearly every award for short fiction. Now this young writer, widely heralded as a once-in-a-generation talent, returns with a first novel that harnesses the sweeping vision and deep heart that made her debut so arresting to a love story set in a devastatingly imagined near future. Unrelenting drought has transfigured Southern California into a surreal, phantasmagoric landscape. With the Central Valley barren, underground aquifer drained, and Sierra snowpack entirely depleted, most "Mojavs," prevented by both armed vigilantes and an indifferent bureaucracy from freely crossing borders to lusher regions, have allowed themselves to be evacuated to internment camps. In Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon, two young Mojavs. Luz, once a poster child for the Bureau of Conservation and its enemies, and Ray, a veteran of the "forever war" turned surfer--squat in a starlet's abandoned mansion. Holdouts, they subsist on rationed cola and whatever they can loot, scavenge, and improvise. The couple's fragile love somehow blooms in this arid place, and for the moment, it seems enough. But when they cross paths with a mysterious child, the thirst for a better future begins. They head east, a route strewn with danger: sinkholes and patrolling authorities, bandits and the brutal, omnipresent sun. Ghosting after them are rumors of a visionary dowser a diviner for waterand his followers, who whispers say have formed a colony at the edge of a mysterious sea of dunes. Immensely moving, profoundly disquieting, and mind-blowingly original, Watkins's novel explores the myths we believe about others and tell about ourselves, the double-edged power of our most cherished relationships, and the shape of hope in a precarious future that may be our own"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member sturlington
In the near future, drought has rendered the Southwestern US nearly uninhabitable. A mountain-high sea dune called the Amargosa has spread over large portions of the Mojave Desert in Southern California. Most people have evacuated, but some remain in Los Angeles, living off rationed soda and
This was an odd and compelling book. Before Ray and Luz leave Los Angeles, the story seems a little slow, but once they set out, it changes radically. There is more than a touch of magical realism here, as the landscape in which they become stranded is so radically different from the America we know that it could be an alien planet. Here Watkins becomes experimental and playful with her prose, adding to its dreamlike quality. This bizarre landscape exerts an almost mystical hold over the people who fall into it and become trapped there, as if the dune sea itself is a conscious thing with its own needs and desires. This is the kind of book that the reader drifts through, not a page turner but strangely fascinating, and when it's over, we're unsure exactly what we've experienced. We only know that it has affected us.
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scavenging from abandoned homes of millionaires. Ray and Luz are two of them, but when they take a two-year-old girl, they realize they need to give her a better life. They set out on a treacherous crossing of the desert, where they encounter a cult-like group surviving at the edges of the great dune sea.This was an odd and compelling book. Before Ray and Luz leave Los Angeles, the story seems a little slow, but once they set out, it changes radically. There is more than a touch of magical realism here, as the landscape in which they become stranded is so radically different from the America we know that it could be an alien planet. Here Watkins becomes experimental and playful with her prose, adding to its dreamlike quality. This bizarre landscape exerts an almost mystical hold over the people who fall into it and become trapped there, as if the dune sea itself is a conscious thing with its own needs and desires. This is the kind of book that the reader drifts through, not a page turner but strangely fascinating, and when it's over, we're unsure exactly what we've experienced. We only know that it has affected us.
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LibraryThing member gypsysmom
According to one of the main characters everyone who moved to California was seeking one of three things: gold, fame or citrus. I would have thought sun and warmth would have played some role in the decision but undeniably these three make a good book title. In addition to being lures these three
This story takes place after the rivers and wells in the interior valleys have completely dried up and a large sand dune sea has taken over. Luz Dunn, her partner Ray and a child called Ig are trying to escape California by driving east. Luz and Ray took Ig from a group of wasted drifters because they were not looking after her. Once they had Ig it became obvious to Luz and Ray that California was no place to try to raise a child. They try to plan for any eventuality but no-one realized how massive the dune sea had grown. When they ran out of gas along the northern edge of the sand Ray leaves Luz and Ig to try to find some help. Luz is near death from sunstroke when Levi, leader of a small group living on the edge of the dunes, finds her and Ig. When Luz is recovered she wants to look for Ray but Levi tells her that he died. He shows her some of Ray's belongings and points out a spot covered over by sand that he says is where he found Ray's body. Levi is conveniently nearby when Luz recovers from her grief and soon Luz is Levi's woman. Ig is looked after by the whole group and especially by Dallas who had given birth to a stillborn child shortly before Luz and Ig arrived. Her breast milk sustains Ig. Levi is a dowser and can find water anywhere. The group grows food and they even have a narcotic root to chew. It is all quite idyllic. Or is it?
The author has developed a convincing post-apocalyptic world. Her writing is top-notch but I wasn't quite convinced by her characters. Although Watkins has them crying often they seemed wooden and one-dimensional. I suspect that Watkins will improve with time. This is her first novel although she has previously written a book of short stories. I think she bears watching.
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things also prove to be evanescent. Most miners in the California Gold Rush moved on to other locations after a few years. The actors and actresses seeking fame in the movie industry probably had to supplement their income by working as bartenders, wait staff or prostitutes. As for citrus (and other crops), when the water for irrigation disappears no more fruit can be grown. This story takes place after the rivers and wells in the interior valleys have completely dried up and a large sand dune sea has taken over. Luz Dunn, her partner Ray and a child called Ig are trying to escape California by driving east. Luz and Ray took Ig from a group of wasted drifters because they were not looking after her. Once they had Ig it became obvious to Luz and Ray that California was no place to try to raise a child. They try to plan for any eventuality but no-one realized how massive the dune sea had grown. When they ran out of gas along the northern edge of the sand Ray leaves Luz and Ig to try to find some help. Luz is near death from sunstroke when Levi, leader of a small group living on the edge of the dunes, finds her and Ig. When Luz is recovered she wants to look for Ray but Levi tells her that he died. He shows her some of Ray's belongings and points out a spot covered over by sand that he says is where he found Ray's body. Levi is conveniently nearby when Luz recovers from her grief and soon Luz is Levi's woman. Ig is looked after by the whole group and especially by Dallas who had given birth to a stillborn child shortly before Luz and Ig arrived. Her breast milk sustains Ig. Levi is a dowser and can find water anywhere. The group grows food and they even have a narcotic root to chew. It is all quite idyllic. Or is it?
The author has developed a convincing post-apocalyptic world. Her writing is top-notch but I wasn't quite convinced by her characters. Although Watkins has them crying often they seemed wooden and one-dimensional. I suspect that Watkins will improve with time. This is her first novel although she has previously written a book of short stories. I think she bears watching.
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LibraryThing member BrandieC
I struggled with my rating of Claire Vaye Watkins's Gold Fame Citrus. I was bored for the first third of the book (Book One, 111 pages recounting the story of Luz, Ray, and Ig before they encounter the colony in the Dune Sea), and I know many, if not, most readers would have cut their losses long
Was it worth it? I don't know. A masterpiece it is not, and it didn't really pay off for me until page 323 (out of 339) when Watkins departed from her conventional storytelling in a tantalizing way which I will not describe further for fear of spoiling it. It did, however, give me probably the best closing sentence I read all year, and, as all good trial lawyers know, juries give disproportionate weight to the last thing they hear (the "recency effect"). I don't consider the time I spent reading Gold Fame Citrus wasted, particularly if it gave me a leg up on the Tournament of Books Short List, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, either.
I received a free copy of Gold Fame Citrus through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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before they reached Book Two. However, Gold Fame Citrus came highly recommended by Book Riot, which described it as "a dystopian masterpiece"; it was selected for the 2016 Tournament of Books Long List; and Watkins's essay "On Pandering" was generating a lot of literary buzz, so I persevered.Was it worth it? I don't know. A masterpiece it is not, and it didn't really pay off for me until page 323 (out of 339) when Watkins departed from her conventional storytelling in a tantalizing way which I will not describe further for fear of spoiling it. It did, however, give me probably the best closing sentence I read all year, and, as all good trial lawyers know, juries give disproportionate weight to the last thing they hear (the "recency effect"). I don't consider the time I spent reading Gold Fame Citrus wasted, particularly if it gave me a leg up on the Tournament of Books Short List, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, either.
I received a free copy of Gold Fame Citrus through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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LibraryThing member nbmars
This is another post-apocalyptic dystopia set in the parched and sere west, where the water has dried up and much of the earth turned to sand, and where survival is dicey at best, not least because many people have turned as savage as the environment.
This book is similar in many ways to The Water
The main character is Luz Dunn, who together with her boyfriend Ray Hollis is trying to eke out an existence in the abandoned Los Angeles mansion of a former movie star, under the “ever-beaming, ever-heating, ever-evaporating sun.” Los Angeles used to be a land of "gold, fame, and citrus,” but those times ended when the water ran out.
Luz and Ray were living in what should have been a dream house, but instead:
“Nature had refused to offer herself to them. The water, the green, the mammalian, the tropical, the semitropical, the leafy, the verdant, the motherloving citrus, all of it was denied them and had been denied them so long that with each day, each project, it became more and more impossible to conceive of a time when it had not been denied them. The prospect of Mother Nature opening her legs and inviting Los Angeles back into her ripeness was, like the disks of water shimmering in the last foothill reservoirs patrolled by the National Guard, evaporating daily.”
Their lives change radically yet again when they take charge of a sort-of abandoned little girl, who identifies herself as Ig. They know they must leave the area, in case Ig’s drug-addled keepers come to take her away, and so they set out across the desert, to disastrous effect.
They encounter not only the now "quotidian" dangers, such as ever-present thirst, the desiccated landscape with its scorpions, snakes, and poisonous spiders, the ever-growing encroachment of the sand upon livable habitats, and the increasingly lawless government.
Like in Station Eleven, there is also a sinister, influential itinerant preacher who capitalizes upon the fear and desperation of people, and who uses those people to nefarious ends. He channels their hopelessness and regrets into a weapon more immediately dangerous than the ones he claims the government wants to use on them.
The question is whether Luz, Ray, and Ig can make it out of this living hell alive and mentally intact, and if it would even be worth it if they could.
Discussion: The format of the book morphs like the sand dunes that undergo periodic “sandalanches”: sometimes it is straight narrative, and sometimes dialogue, as in a play. A primer on the "neo-fauna" of the dunes, complete with illustrations, is in the middle of the book. In one instance, two different and competing strands of the narrative are juxtaposed in vertical columns along several pages.
Evaluation: This is probably the fourth or fifth book I’ve read recently that is based on the premise of a future in which global warming, aberrant weather patterns, and drought has returned much of the southwest to a “wild west” of dog-eat-dog competition for survival. And as Ron Charles observed in a mordantly humorous remark in his review of this book for “The Washington Post”:
“Like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Gold Fame Citrus doesn’t spend much time exploring how we arrived at this moonscape. Let’s face it: We know how.”
None of these books paints a pretty picture, but this one is the most grim of those I have read. However, it should be noted that the author has gotten rave reviews for her writing; indeed, that’s why I picked it up. Movie geeks will recognize a few nods to “Chinatown,” both overt and unidentified.
This book is similar in many ways to The Water
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Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi, which I thought was bleak, but this one manages to be even more of a downer. It reminded me too of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, both in its artsy-ness and in the surreal tone that at times seems to take precedence over the story itself. I also saw a resemblance to the quirky as well as horrific aspects of Swamplandia.The main character is Luz Dunn, who together with her boyfriend Ray Hollis is trying to eke out an existence in the abandoned Los Angeles mansion of a former movie star, under the “ever-beaming, ever-heating, ever-evaporating sun.” Los Angeles used to be a land of "gold, fame, and citrus,” but those times ended when the water ran out.
Luz and Ray were living in what should have been a dream house, but instead:
“Nature had refused to offer herself to them. The water, the green, the mammalian, the tropical, the semitropical, the leafy, the verdant, the motherloving citrus, all of it was denied them and had been denied them so long that with each day, each project, it became more and more impossible to conceive of a time when it had not been denied them. The prospect of Mother Nature opening her legs and inviting Los Angeles back into her ripeness was, like the disks of water shimmering in the last foothill reservoirs patrolled by the National Guard, evaporating daily.”
Their lives change radically yet again when they take charge of a sort-of abandoned little girl, who identifies herself as Ig. They know they must leave the area, in case Ig’s drug-addled keepers come to take her away, and so they set out across the desert, to disastrous effect.
They encounter not only the now "quotidian" dangers, such as ever-present thirst, the desiccated landscape with its scorpions, snakes, and poisonous spiders, the ever-growing encroachment of the sand upon livable habitats, and the increasingly lawless government.
Like in Station Eleven, there is also a sinister, influential itinerant preacher who capitalizes upon the fear and desperation of people, and who uses those people to nefarious ends. He channels their hopelessness and regrets into a weapon more immediately dangerous than the ones he claims the government wants to use on them.
The question is whether Luz, Ray, and Ig can make it out of this living hell alive and mentally intact, and if it would even be worth it if they could.
Discussion: The format of the book morphs like the sand dunes that undergo periodic “sandalanches”: sometimes it is straight narrative, and sometimes dialogue, as in a play. A primer on the "neo-fauna" of the dunes, complete with illustrations, is in the middle of the book. In one instance, two different and competing strands of the narrative are juxtaposed in vertical columns along several pages.
Evaluation: This is probably the fourth or fifth book I’ve read recently that is based on the premise of a future in which global warming, aberrant weather patterns, and drought has returned much of the southwest to a “wild west” of dog-eat-dog competition for survival. And as Ron Charles observed in a mordantly humorous remark in his review of this book for “The Washington Post”:
“Like Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, Gold Fame Citrus doesn’t spend much time exploring how we arrived at this moonscape. Let’s face it: We know how.”
None of these books paints a pretty picture, but this one is the most grim of those I have read. However, it should be noted that the author has gotten rave reviews for her writing; indeed, that’s why I picked it up. Movie geeks will recognize a few nods to “Chinatown,” both overt and unidentified.
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LibraryThing member TheDenizen
Gold Fame Citrus is a dystopian novel set in a dying, drought ridden California. Listening to it, I found the prose difficult to follow and somewhat pretentious for the first quarter of the novel. I did become caught up in the story, however, as it progressed and began to find the two main
I prefer a more linear storyline and style in audio and soon realized I probably would have preferred this novel if I had read it. None-the-less, it ended up as a 4 star book for me.
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characters' budding hope of a better world and life interesting as they took a toddler under their wing and set out to find a better life.I prefer a more linear storyline and style in audio and soon realized I probably would have preferred this novel if I had read it. None-the-less, it ended up as a 4 star book for me.
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
The American Southwest has completely run out of water. The new ocean covering vast areas is now made of sand, mountains are sandstone, and Californians who once came for fame, gold or citrus are now called Mohave. Many moving Eastward are taken to relocation camps, but not all leave. Luz, once
I finished this a while ago and am still shaking my head. What have I just read? Wildly imaginative or prescient, original and devastating. A cult like leader who is a dowser and his followers in the desert, a haven or a threat? What a brilliant concept this book is, even to the point where Watkins manages to come up with new supposed insects and animals that are living in this new sand ocean, adapting and changing to thrive in their new environment. But are they real? There is so much to this book, descriptions and feelings, almost a hallucinogenic mind game with characters who change and evolve Prose that is brilliant or sometimes seems overwritten but to great effect. So incredibly addictive and immersive.
ARC from publisher.
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known as baby Dunn, a poster child form failed conservation movement is one. She meets Ray and forma while they live in an abandoned stars mansion, until they misappropriate a child and want a better chance at life. I finished this a while ago and am still shaking my head. What have I just read? Wildly imaginative or prescient, original and devastating. A cult like leader who is a dowser and his followers in the desert, a haven or a threat? What a brilliant concept this book is, even to the point where Watkins manages to come up with new supposed insects and animals that are living in this new sand ocean, adapting and changing to thrive in their new environment. But are they real? There is so much to this book, descriptions and feelings, almost a hallucinogenic mind game with characters who change and evolve Prose that is brilliant or sometimes seems overwritten but to great effect. So incredibly addictive and immersive.
ARC from publisher.
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LibraryThing member tewigleben
Gold, Fame, Citrus is the apocalypse, imagined in a an eerily real way these days. Drought overtakes Southern CA (sound familiar), but to the point of barren wasteland, scavenging for anything fresh, water rations and abandonment. Most have left for greener pastures, but Luz and her boyfriend Ray
Then, they find a little girl. Dirty, scruffy, undeterminable and irresistible, they take her from those whom have her. Ig, she is called, because that’s who she says she is. A child, even if it’s not yours, makes your mind look towards the future, and they realize they need to leave.
On the way through, things happen. Bad things. Ray is gone and Luz is left with Ig, rescued by other hold outs, in an even more barren, more wasted wasteland were sand dunes constantly shift and grow, threatening to bury everyone at any moment. But there is a leader there, and he seems to have the answers.
This book is written like poetry, short, quip phrases and allusions, metaphors and fragmented thoughts that shift like the desert and sand in this story. It’s not for everyone, but for those people who can look deeper into the text, enjoy flawed characters and gritty wonder. It’s fantastical and realistic, all at once, and the ended leaves you lost and aching.
Books should end like that sometimes.
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hold out, their love enough to deal with the crazy.Then, they find a little girl. Dirty, scruffy, undeterminable and irresistible, they take her from those whom have her. Ig, she is called, because that’s who she says she is. A child, even if it’s not yours, makes your mind look towards the future, and they realize they need to leave.
On the way through, things happen. Bad things. Ray is gone and Luz is left with Ig, rescued by other hold outs, in an even more barren, more wasted wasteland were sand dunes constantly shift and grow, threatening to bury everyone at any moment. But there is a leader there, and he seems to have the answers.
This book is written like poetry, short, quip phrases and allusions, metaphors and fragmented thoughts that shift like the desert and sand in this story. It’s not for everyone, but for those people who can look deeper into the text, enjoy flawed characters and gritty wonder. It’s fantastical and realistic, all at once, and the ended leaves you lost and aching.
Books should end like that sometimes.
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LibraryThing member voracious
In the not so distant future, California and the Southwestern part of the United States become overcome by a cataclysmic drought, which destroys civilization, forcing the relocation of millions of people to other parts of the United States who shun these new migrants. Those left have only a tiny
Although not a happy book, I enjoyed the dystopian and realistic storyline, which seemed completely probable given California's drought-like conditions. I would recommend it for fans of dystopia although the characters were not as likable as other similar storylines.
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ration of water each day and they are left to scrounge for food and resources if they want to avoid being put into relocation camps. Luz and Ray are two who remain, holed up in a starlet's mansion on the cliffs of Southern California. When the two come upon a baby that has been neglected and abused by some transient gutterpunks, Luz and Ray steal the baby and decide they must leave the area in order to seek out a better life. However, as they attempt to cross the Mohave Desert and the "Dune Sea", they run out of gas and are separated, barely clinging to life. Now in the company of other rebel survivors, Luz and the baby attempt to find out what happened to Ray and understand their uncertain future.Although not a happy book, I enjoyed the dystopian and realistic storyline, which seemed completely probable given California's drought-like conditions. I would recommend it for fans of dystopia although the characters were not as likable as other similar storylines.
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LibraryThing member mjlivi
A wild and vivid book, set in a near-future California where the drought has completely taken over, leaving the SW of the USA parched and dying. The writing plants you right in the dryness and heat and I found myself grabbing my water bottle a bit tighter as the dread and horror of the desert
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kicked in. Harsh, terrifying and moving, this is a very impressive piece of work. Show Less
LibraryThing member nellienoo
Southern California has been rendered a wasteland by a constantly moving dune sea known as the Amargosa. Ray and Luz are some of the few hold outs, refusing to be evacuated to the work camps that refugees are sent to. Depending on each other, they carve out a life needing and being needed and this
Apart from making you consider the environmental damage being caused by mankind, the novel makes you consider the gullibility of the desperate, the corruptive nature of power, and the force of the survival instinct. It is compelling and thought-provoking as it asks the what ifs of our future. This is a beautifully written novel comprised of deeply evocative language, interesting characters and a chilling premise. I would recommend it to both individuals and reading groups as there is plenty to discuss here.
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is enough for them. But when they rescue/kidnap a young girl named Ig from the abusive group of adults she is with, Ray and Luz realise they must try to get Ig out, to find a way to get to the lush lands denied them. This involves traversing the Amargosa and facing down its mysteries and madness.Apart from making you consider the environmental damage being caused by mankind, the novel makes you consider the gullibility of the desperate, the corruptive nature of power, and the force of the survival instinct. It is compelling and thought-provoking as it asks the what ifs of our future. This is a beautifully written novel comprised of deeply evocative language, interesting characters and a chilling premise. I would recommend it to both individuals and reading groups as there is plenty to discuss here.
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LibraryThing member lesleystyles
I really can't say that I enjoyed this book. In fact I found it rather depressing, much in the same way as I did with the book Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker and the film Melancholia. Apart from the sort of 'post apocalyptic' nature of the story I found the novel quite hard to read. The
The only reason that I persevered with this book was because I was sent a copy to review and I also don't like giving up on a book, unless it is really badly written. I don't necessarily think that this is the case with this novel but it really didn't suit me. I didn't really care about the characters, I didn't feel that the story actually had any real flow and I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. I just read because I wanted to finish it and get it out of the way! Having said this, I have found it is a book that stays with you and it does have some valid things to say. But would I read it again - no! Do I agree with the comments in the blurb praising this novel - no! Would I recommend it to a friend - not really, unless they want a bit of a challenge - in more ways than one!
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author seemed to be very fond of using great paragraphs of lists, almost like a stream of consciousness, which I found very tiresome. There were also a lot of Americanisms that I just didn't understand.The only reason that I persevered with this book was because I was sent a copy to review and I also don't like giving up on a book, unless it is really badly written. I don't necessarily think that this is the case with this novel but it really didn't suit me. I didn't really care about the characters, I didn't feel that the story actually had any real flow and I didn't feel compelled to keep reading. I just read because I wanted to finish it and get it out of the way! Having said this, I have found it is a book that stays with you and it does have some valid things to say. But would I read it again - no! Do I agree with the comments in the blurb praising this novel - no! Would I recommend it to a friend - not really, unless they want a bit of a challenge - in more ways than one!
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LibraryThing member ninnytendo
After an ecological disaster the south-west of the USA is now a large desert. People are either stranded or they have been evacuated to areas controlled by the army. Luz and Ray live in the abandoned mansion of a starlet in LA. They live on water and cola rations and items they purchase from the
This is a dystopian story written in a very evocative and beautiful language full of description and imagery. In parts it feels very poetic and full of metaphors which transport you to the desert and the arid landscape but unfortunately these became a distraction to me and I did not feel it added a lot to the story. The author describes very beautiful settings where ugly things happen and the dregs of society live. I found it a bit difficult to get into the story and to enjoy the journey because of the poetic distractions and in places I just wanted the author to hurry up and continue with the story. I could not relate to the characters in the beginning as I found them flawed and unsympathetic and it wasn’t until events separate them that I started to get to know each of them a bit better and start caring more about them. I found Luz capricious and always expecting somebody to look after her and rescue her. I wanted her to stop depending on Ray and to stand for herself. I was hoping she would become a strong and independent woman and when she arrived at the colony I thought this would be her chance. The colony was made up of outcasts living in a harmonious setting under the direction of a deceiving criminal. It felt like an organised cult where everybody had their place and they all adored the leading figure. It was not until I read that the author’s mother had been a former Charles Manson's "Family" member that I understood where she possibly got her motivation from. As the story goes on I started to think that perhaps Ray is the hero of the story. His journey of self-discovery made me change my mind about him quite a few times and I felt sympathetic towards him once he realises that he needs Luz in her life and arrives at the colony to take her.
It is difficult to imagine when in the future the story takes place and I believe it has a hidden environmental message whether the author wants us to think what humanity would be like if the Earth warmed up so much that we run out of water and the desert took over the lifestyle we are accustomed to. The landscape and societies depicted by the author are harsh and powerful and they add a sense of rawness to the story.
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black market. In one of their trips to the black market they meet a small child and Luz decides to kidnap (or in her eyes, rescue) her. The child will change their lives forever and will take them on a journey in search of water and a better future. The journey will not be easy and they will meet people who will change their lives forever.This is a dystopian story written in a very evocative and beautiful language full of description and imagery. In parts it feels very poetic and full of metaphors which transport you to the desert and the arid landscape but unfortunately these became a distraction to me and I did not feel it added a lot to the story. The author describes very beautiful settings where ugly things happen and the dregs of society live. I found it a bit difficult to get into the story and to enjoy the journey because of the poetic distractions and in places I just wanted the author to hurry up and continue with the story. I could not relate to the characters in the beginning as I found them flawed and unsympathetic and it wasn’t until events separate them that I started to get to know each of them a bit better and start caring more about them. I found Luz capricious and always expecting somebody to look after her and rescue her. I wanted her to stop depending on Ray and to stand for herself. I was hoping she would become a strong and independent woman and when she arrived at the colony I thought this would be her chance. The colony was made up of outcasts living in a harmonious setting under the direction of a deceiving criminal. It felt like an organised cult where everybody had their place and they all adored the leading figure. It was not until I read that the author’s mother had been a former Charles Manson's "Family" member that I understood where she possibly got her motivation from. As the story goes on I started to think that perhaps Ray is the hero of the story. His journey of self-discovery made me change my mind about him quite a few times and I felt sympathetic towards him once he realises that he needs Luz in her life and arrives at the colony to take her.
It is difficult to imagine when in the future the story takes place and I believe it has a hidden environmental message whether the author wants us to think what humanity would be like if the Earth warmed up so much that we run out of water and the desert took over the lifestyle we are accustomed to. The landscape and societies depicted by the author are harsh and powerful and they add a sense of rawness to the story.
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LibraryThing member eachurch
In this extraordinarily beautifully written book, Watkins explores two themes that don't normally go together: the effects of a (man-made) apocalypse and celebrity culture. Watkins approaches her subject matter in a fearless manner using an unusual structure. The love triangle at the center of the
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end of the book is the only thing that isn't particularly interesting. Show Less
LibraryThing member Lightfantastic
Dystopian novel about the western us after years of severe drought. Falls in the tradition of Elmer Gantry.
LibraryThing member photonegative
This book had some good parts. I did not hate reading the entirety of it, which is why I settled on 2 stars instead of 1. But then I got to the end, and I almost literally threw it across the room, because wow was that awful.
LibraryThing member Dreesie
This novel started off swimmingly (HA HA): after years of drought, much of central and desert CA has been enveloped by a huge dune, a sea of sand. Nevada and Arizona is not better off and all 3 states (or parts) have been evacuated to the north and east, where "Mojavs" are treated as "Okies" were
But not everyone left. Some stayed--the unbelievers, those with warrants, those who want to be heros. They are given ration colas and regularly ransack empty stores and homes.
Ray and Luz stayed behind. Now it is too late to leave--no more evacuations, and Oregon has a guarded border. Leaving through the dune is crazy. Maybe?
After the great start, this book went off on an unbelievable tangent. Yes that means the first part was believable, as I sit here with my dead lawn, overheated house, checking on fires to figure out if we can go out of town soon or not. But the unbelievable tangent had promise--until it went of the deep end and didn't.
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generations ago.But not everyone left. Some stayed--the unbelievers, those with warrants, those who want to be heros. They are given ration colas and regularly ransack empty stores and homes.
Ray and Luz stayed behind. Now it is too late to leave--no more evacuations, and Oregon has a guarded border. Leaving through the dune is crazy. Maybe?
After the great start, this book went off on an unbelievable tangent. Yes that means the first part was believable, as I sit here with my dead lawn, overheated house, checking on fires to figure out if we can go out of town soon or not. But the unbelievable tangent had promise--until it went of the deep end and didn't.
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LibraryThing member lindaspangler
dystopic set in the central valley and southern california desert, among huge environmental disaster and drought. jumps around and hard to follow at points, but I enjoyed it.
LibraryThing member photonegative
This book had some good parts. I did not hate reading the entirety of it, which is why I settled on 2 stars instead of 1. But then I got to the end, and I almost literally threw it across the room, because wow was that awful.
LibraryThing member juniperSun
Audio version.
The mellow voice of the main narrator is very soothing, you could drift away on it. The writing itself was difficult to listen to, as Watkins got carried away with her descriptive phrases, lists of them. In fact, at one point in describing a supporting character who keeps lists, we
Set in the near future where desertification has taken over most of the western states, we follow Luz, a child-star poster-child for environmentalism as she and her lover trip out and try to find a viable future for themselves.
The mellow voice of the main narrator is very soothing, you could drift away on it. The writing itself was difficult to listen to, as Watkins got carried away with her descriptive phrases, lists of them. In fact, at one point in describing a supporting character who keeps lists, we
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are given verbatim about a month's worth of the lists he's made. If you are in the mood for delighting in imagery, however, others of the multiple descriptions will please you.Set in the near future where desertification has taken over most of the western states, we follow Luz, a child-star poster-child for environmentalism as she and her lover trip out and try to find a viable future for themselves.
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LibraryThing member bragan
This novel starts out in the decaying remnants of a California where drought has become total and permanent, in a future where much of the American West has been swallowed up by a vast, impossible sea of sand dunes.
I find this one kind of hard to review, really. Because ultimately I think it's a
I think, though, that this is one where people's mileage is going to vary enormously.
I find this one kind of hard to review, really. Because ultimately I think it's a
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beautiful experiment of a novel, but for me it's not an experiment that quite entirely succeeds. The prose is creative and intricate, in a way that I sometimes found lovely and arresting, and sometimes simply overdone. There are a lot of complex and interesting themes, some obvious and perhaps some less so, and I certainly did find myself responding to them. But it gets stranger and more improbable-feeling as it goes along, in a way that worked for me less and less well as it went along. Not that I dislike the strange and improbable, by any means, but I think this sort of thing has to resonate with the reader in exactly the right way to be effective, and it only halfway did that for me.I think, though, that this is one where people's mileage is going to vary enormously.
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LibraryThing member bookishtexpat
This book had so much promise but I felt the last third of the book was rushed and hastily concluded. The beginning was captivating: I loved where Watkins started in her narrative and the direction she took Ray, Luz, and Ig. I did like the idea of the whole story, but everything happened so quickly
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at the end and I wanted either another 100 pages or for the story to end earlier. Overall the writing was beautiful and I will definitely be looking for more by Claire Vaye Watkins. Show Less
LibraryThing member reader1009
fiction (post quasi-apocalypse / government-funded dust bowl) I was ok with the characters' development until I hit 50 pages of backstory, followed by another 50 pages of backstory. Really? Not what I feel like reading right after a cliff-hanger of sorts in the plot.
LibraryThing member write-review
When a Novel Fails ...
Let the title be a warning to literary fiction fans who like their writers to make a dollop of sense and to dystopian novel fans who cherish sharp conflict and galvanic plotting: if the title makes little sense, don’t expect the avalanche of words following to clarify
Doubtless, Watkins can write evocative descriptions. Unfortunately, in her novel, these become the centerpiece of the entire literary venture. The plot boils down to no more than wandering aimlessly in a desert, an unwanted gift of from humankind’s reckless disregard of natural resources. Her characters, the wanders, mull much over, but instead of intriguing you and stimulating your own thoughts, they commit a cardinal sin of literature, for which, you will feel them justly condemned to the desert: they bore you to distraction.
And this is a shame, for there lurks within these pages a potentially interesting novel. Less time getting out of L.A., less time baking under the sun, less time waxing on and on about what things look and feel like, more time expanding upon the chaos caused by the drought, perhaps expansion of the mining section and a rant on authoritarianism, a more coherent crystallization of the mad prophet of the desert, and the addition of more consciousness to the desert, an anthropomorphism often hinted at but never realized, perhaps these might have made this a better novel, or at least a more enjoyable one.
Let the title be a warning to literary fiction fans who like their writers to make a dollop of sense and to dystopian novel fans who cherish sharp conflict and galvanic plotting: if the title makes little sense, don’t expect the avalanche of words following to clarify
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things.Doubtless, Watkins can write evocative descriptions. Unfortunately, in her novel, these become the centerpiece of the entire literary venture. The plot boils down to no more than wandering aimlessly in a desert, an unwanted gift of from humankind’s reckless disregard of natural resources. Her characters, the wanders, mull much over, but instead of intriguing you and stimulating your own thoughts, they commit a cardinal sin of literature, for which, you will feel them justly condemned to the desert: they bore you to distraction.
And this is a shame, for there lurks within these pages a potentially interesting novel. Less time getting out of L.A., less time baking under the sun, less time waxing on and on about what things look and feel like, more time expanding upon the chaos caused by the drought, perhaps expansion of the mining section and a rant on authoritarianism, a more coherent crystallization of the mad prophet of the desert, and the addition of more consciousness to the desert, an anthropomorphism often hinted at but never realized, perhaps these might have made this a better novel, or at least a more enjoyable one.
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LibraryThing member write-review
When a Novel Fails ...
Let the title be a warning to literary fiction fans who like their writers to make a dollop of sense and to dystopian novel fans who cherish sharp conflict and galvanic plotting: if the title makes little sense, don’t expect the avalanche of words following to clarify
Doubtless, Watkins can write evocative descriptions. Unfortunately, in her novel, these become the centerpiece of the entire literary venture. The plot boils down to no more than wandering aimlessly in a desert, an unwanted gift of from humankind’s reckless disregard of natural resources. Her characters, the wanders, mull much over, but instead of intriguing you and stimulating your own thoughts, they commit a cardinal sin of literature, for which, you will feel them justly condemned to the desert: they bore you to distraction.
And this is a shame, for there lurks within these pages a potentially interesting novel. Less time getting out of L.A., less time baking under the sun, less time waxing on and on about what things look and feel like, more time expanding upon the chaos caused by the drought, perhaps expansion of the mining section and a rant on authoritarianism, a more coherent crystallization of the mad prophet of the desert, and the addition of more consciousness to the desert, an anthropomorphism often hinted at but never realized, perhaps these might have made this a better novel, or at least a more enjoyable one.
Let the title be a warning to literary fiction fans who like their writers to make a dollop of sense and to dystopian novel fans who cherish sharp conflict and galvanic plotting: if the title makes little sense, don’t expect the avalanche of words following to clarify
Show More
things.Doubtless, Watkins can write evocative descriptions. Unfortunately, in her novel, these become the centerpiece of the entire literary venture. The plot boils down to no more than wandering aimlessly in a desert, an unwanted gift of from humankind’s reckless disregard of natural resources. Her characters, the wanders, mull much over, but instead of intriguing you and stimulating your own thoughts, they commit a cardinal sin of literature, for which, you will feel them justly condemned to the desert: they bore you to distraction.
And this is a shame, for there lurks within these pages a potentially interesting novel. Less time getting out of L.A., less time baking under the sun, less time waxing on and on about what things look and feel like, more time expanding upon the chaos caused by the drought, perhaps expansion of the mining section and a rant on authoritarianism, a more coherent crystallization of the mad prophet of the desert, and the addition of more consciousness to the desert, an anthropomorphism often hinted at but never realized, perhaps these might have made this a better novel, or at least a more enjoyable one.
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LibraryThing member booklove2
The first sentence had me. I love these sort of terrifying ultra plausible, inevitable eco-dystopias. Really, a collapse of the delicate systems of human beings wouldn't take much. And when will we know when we're actually IN IT? The scenario in Claire Vaye Watkin's imaginative book is drought
Set this on the shelf next to:
The New Wilderness - Diane Cook
California - Edan Lepucki
A Friend of the Earth & Drop City & The Tortilla Curtain - T.C. Boyle
Trouble No Man - Brian Hart
Severance - Ling Ma
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer (if America was being taken over by a desert instead of what happens in 'Annihilation')
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causing sandvalanches at the site of the Amargosa Super Dune, swallowing America 500,000 years before it should, particularly in the already-almost-gone deserts of the American West. Luz is an ex-model squatting in the rich mansions of the "laurelless canyon" with her boyfriend. Because of Luz's status as a Mojav, a new sort of refugee from the waterless places, disregarded and condemned by those living in the "better" parts of America, Luz, her boyfriend and a stolen child find themselves in the Super Dune. Though now as I'm typing, I'm questioning if Luz is a Mojav, because I feel there wasn't enough of her back story. Either Luz is too vapid for this book, the desert slows everything down OR possibly some of these topics are tough for Claire Vaye Watkins to write about... I'm not sure if it was a combination of selfish main characters and the result of some of their choices, or the writer's own closeness to things like her family's familiarity with a cult or operating a writing workshop for teens called the Mojave School -- but something seemed to keep the general text at a remove from the reader, while I loved the level of detail in other parts of the novel. One example: the story is told in different ways, like a Super Dune bestiary including drawings. Though there is no set time that I could find (which is a smart thing to do for any eco-fiction), a fantastic description of future nightmarish TV shows probably set the time (yet since the publication of this book in 2015, TV is probably much closer to TV shows available now.) It's the little details that make Claire Vaye Watkins a writer I'm looking forward to reading more from.Set this on the shelf next to:
The New Wilderness - Diane Cook
California - Edan Lepucki
A Friend of the Earth & Drop City & The Tortilla Curtain - T.C. Boyle
Trouble No Man - Brian Hart
Severance - Ling Ma
Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer (if America was being taken over by a desert instead of what happens in 'Annihilation')
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Awards
Center for Fiction First Novel Prize (Longlist — 2015)
NPR: Books We Love (2015)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2015)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2015
Physical description
352 p.; 6.38 inches
ISBN
1594634238 / 9781594634239