Citrus: a Novel
The woman will be affectionate, but considered rather homely.
Her great sense of humor will send most men dancing toward
her, then away. The idea will be that sooner or later she will have
to learn how to feel satisfied with a life without romantic love. A
couple of days after she relinquishes Desire, she will meet — and
the reader will see this coming long before she does — the Shark.
He'll roar into town on a massive Harley-Davidson. He'll set up shop.
O, he might as well be Apollo blazing through the heavens
upon a gilded chariot!
- Finally, her courageous move to Citrus
- Life in the rose-colored trailer
- Henry's Diner
- Her crazy neighbors, Vernon and Terri
- Her new best friend, Sally
- The honky-tonk where she out shoots the Shark
- How she trembles all over; how she can't stop
- Church picnic
- His jeans streaked with grease, dark with sweat
- The wrench in his hand, the tattoos on his knuckles
- The 4th of July barbecue
- The accident
Go to each place, describe each scene.
Attend, even, the funeral of the Shark.
Now
Now I feel like saying it. Now I feel like sleeping.
Now I feel like drawing. Now I feel like boiling
an egg. Now I feel like washing the car. Now I feel
like making love. Now I feel like waking up. Now
I feel like eating an orange. Now I feel like writing
a letter. Now I feel like chopping wood. Now I feel
like shoveling snow. Now I feel like calling my mom.
Now I feel like riding a bike. Now I feel like reading
The Tempest. Now I feel like breaking your heart.
Scott Brennan, from Miami, Florida, has appeared recently in The Carolina Quarterly, Chicago Review, The Gettysburg Review, Notre Dame Review, and Sewanee Review. contact
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