After reading 110 pages of Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins, I couldn’t stick with it. I don’t typically stop reading a book once I’ve started, but after I was a third of the way through I still wasn’t excited about the story and found my mind drifting.
The story is built on an interesting idea that a massive drought has swept through California. A drought that is so drastic it sends most of the population away. Luz and Ray, the main characters of the book, are holdouts living in an abandoned mansion in southern California and are surviving on rations and whatever they can scavenge. Claire Vaye Watkins did do a great job illustrating this desert landscape that left me feeling quite thirsty every time I was reading. Unfortunately, I found the writing to be scattered and a bit un-engaging. That’s not to say it’s a bad story though, maybe reading it in another place at another time would be an entirely different experience…
Has anyone else tried reading Gold Fame Citrus? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Dream by Day 
I haven’t had a chance to read it, but may not now my attention span is very short. I need to be hooked in right from the start.
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Sadly, it definitely didn’t hook me from the start!
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Always like an honest opinion! Too many good books out there to waste valuable reading time on mediocre ones!
Mary
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I totally agree! One of my New Years resolutions is to stop finishing books that I don’t connect with because there are so many other great ones out there!
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I’ve recently taken this approach, but it’s not easy. 🙂 As an author, I used to feel so guilty not finishing a novel, but now I think, ‘Why did I lose attention? What would I have done differently?’
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I sometimes feel guilty too, but we all can’t connect with every book! That’s a great point, to notice what made you lose interest and how it could be fixed.
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hmmm… This was on my tbr list. The premise sounded great. I may still try it, but it has definitely been moved down in priority.
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Yes definitely try it! While I didn’t connect with the writing style, many people loved it!
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It sounds a bit bleak.
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It definitely is… And while reading it I felt thirsty the entire time because of the desert surroundings.
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I think I’ll pass on this book for sure.
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