Gold Fame Citrus

A Novel

By: Claire Vaye Watkins

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie, MacLeod Andrews

An acclaimed "5 Under 35" fiction writer's much-anticipated first novel

In 2012 Claire Vaye Watkins' 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 will more than meet listeners' hopes, harnessing the sweeping vision and deep heart that made her debut so arresting to a love story set in a devastatingly imagined near future.

In a parched Southern California of the near future, Luz, once the poster child for the country's conservation movement, and Ray, an army deserter turned surfer, are squatting in a starlet's abandoned mansion. Most "Mojavs", prevented by armed vigilantes from freely crossing borders to lusher regions, have allowed themselves to be evacuated to encampments in the east. Holdouts like Ray and Luz subsist on rationed cola and water and whatever they can loot, scavenge, and improvise.

For the moment, the couple's fragile love, which somehow blooms in this arid place, seems enough. But when they cross paths with a mysterious child, the thirst for a better future begins. Heading east, they are waylaid in the desert by a charming and manipulative dowser - a diviner for water - and his cultlike followers, who have formed a colony in a mysterious sea of dunes.

Immensely moving, profoundly disquieting, and mind-blowingly original, Watkins' 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.

©2015 Claire Vaye Watkins (P)2015 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Spectacular. In Margaret Atwood mode, Watkins spikes this fast-moving, high-tension, sexyecocrisis saga with caustic parodies and resounding allusions that cohere into a knowing and elegiac tale of scrappy adaptation and epic loss." (Booklist, starred)

"Packed with persuasive detail, luminous writing, and a grasp of the history (popular, political, natural and imagined) needed to tell a story that is original yet familiar, strange yet all too believable." (Publisher's Weekly, starred)

"In her powerful depictions of the scorched and merciless landscape, Watkins realizes a genuine nostalgia for our lost living world, and the American West in particular...[W]ith its damaged and complicated heroine and multiple voices, shifting perspectives, and unconventional narrative devices, [Gold Fame Citrus] is a wholly original work." (Library Journal)

Meh

I'm not so sure what I thought. I know I loved her description of details. I love the way she explained visual scenes. I guess I'm not moved by the story. It didn't grip me. I don't love the desert, or apocalyptic waterless, dusty futures. I liked the Mormon aspect. I just didn't get too attached to the characters, none were particularly super likeable. I did not like the ending. I believe the author is good at describing a story, I don't like the story though. Just Meh.
The reading was ok. The woman's voice was nice, I didn't like the annunciation of character changes.

Full Range of Humanity on Display

If you now live a relatively comfortable life with shelter, water & food, do you really know how you would adapt and behave in this kind of world? This story contains all the good and bad of humanity. It feels like a resource-scarce future will definitely enable the bad, even when it may at first appear to be good. Humans strive to belong and be part of a community. A lesson here is that community is fragile; it takes constant work and vigilance from all of us so that we foster empathy and protect each other. In doing so, we prevent/do not allow greed, power, and dominance to infect us. Sadly, just as we have not adequately cared for the earth, humanity is incapable of caring for itself. This book is a microcosm of all of humanity’s triumphs and flaws.

Drought. and Survival

California is a Desert blooming in water. This is a harrowing story of what could happen if all the water was taken away. Values of every aspect of life would be drastically altered. Luz, Ray and the baby that finds them are travelers in a time warp.

Utterly unique.

Bowled over by this book and the wonderful reading. It was utterly unique and memorable.

A Tough Look at a Not-too-Distant Future

Any additional comments?

I have so many conflicting feelings about this book, but I think that comes from how complicated the female protagonist is. Luz is a broken as a person can possibly be, but continues to find the strength to carry on. As her choices, and often mistakes, continue to affect all those on her journey with her, you will fluctuate between hope and despair. In a not-too-distant future world where the earth has used up it's resources and the horizon looks bleak, there is not much that is uplifting about this novel. But it's honest, brutally honest. I was immersed in it from beginning to end and upon finishing the book, have only been looking for someone to talk to about it.

Heartbreaking and real

I hate Luz and I love her. She's so much like so many people I know. In the end she does exactly as you know she should but you hate her for it. It's a really sad story but it's compelling and beautifully written. There are places where you go 'what the hell is happening??' But the story is really good and I loved this book.

You won’t regret it.

Captivated from the start. I really had a hard time putting the book down. It is a rollercoaster ride of the human experience, from every thought to every action. Very original. Enjoy.

Southern California after Global Warming

Where does Gold Fame Citrus rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Enjoyable book for the commute. Definitely a lot of creativity and thought went into the characcters, wish there were more explanation of what is happening in the rest of the world, or what the wars were about, but hopefully Ms Watkins has saved that for another novel.

What other book might you compare Gold Fame Citrus to and why?

So many science fiction books (especially now) seem to document this world of never ending drought, its not clear how the rest of the world is faring, but Cali is quite a mess!

Which scene was your favorite?

Details of Los Angeles help bring reality to this dystopian future.

Depressing...yet the story was well written

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'm giving the Story only 3 * because it was such a depressing story, yet well written. If you like those kind of books, this one is the book for you. For me, it left me feeling empty and sad.

I would describe it first as weird but then, good

I think I would have liked an abridged version better. The story was good but I was distracted from it by elaborate and overwritten sections. The actual story, if you can overlook or maybe even enjoy the elaborations, was a good one.