This book, Citrus County by
John Brandon, is a very different book to come out of the publishing house at
McSweeny’s. Usually, they publish offbeat novels that do not adhere to
conventional novelistic trappings like a linear plot or narrative, and instead have
a stylish flare about them that is very but very hit or miss with your average
reader. A good example would be The Children’s Hospital by Chris Adrian, which
was very difficult and hard to remain interested in, but was nonetheless a one
of a kind novel that you do not always see. This is the total opposite of what
to expect of McSweeny’s style of fiction, and may be a sign of a new direction
for them, having published the epic John Sayles novel A Moment in the Sun,
which, from what I have read is a straight-forward novel. Brandon’s novel has
more to do with Lansdale than it does Barthelme, telling a nourish tale in the
old south of Florida. We first meet Toby, as he expounds on life and death
while a little kid listens, from there, we see how little he cares about life
and what he is capable of. He comes in contact with his teacher, Mr. Hibma, who
cares very little about teaching, and more about how to murder one of his
co-workers. He finally meets Shelby, who seems to be the only one who cares
about life, that is until Toby does something horrendous that turns the town
upside down, and brings into question each characters moral ambiguity. Think of
this as the prequel to life of Lou Ford in Jim Thompson’s The Killer Inside Me,
albeit with a lighter edge. A slightly flawed work, that verges on
self-absorption, but is interesting and caring enough not to go that route,
John Brandon is a new talent to watch.
Rating: 4/5
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