Book Review: City of Orange

A Two-Minute Book Review

A man left for dead struggles to survive in a post-apocalyptic landscape in a dry aquifer. In the book’s first HALF, we readers only see the unnamed man. There are foggy flashbacks, but he has amnesia, and he is all alone in the world. It worked for the movie “Castaway” (which the book references ), and it worked here.

Bold and risky move, David Yoon! It takes skill to keep a reader interested with only teasing hints of what came before and what will happen next. You kept us in the mixed-up brain of a desperate and confused survivor of the worst thing ever.

Then, at the tipping point, the plot gets rolling. It’s still weird as you feel the effects of brain injury, but things pick up and carry you through an almost-satisfying ending. (The last ten pages felt a little epilogue-y, but it was a solid ending before that.)

Overall, a fascinating and unusual character study. I enjoyed the experience, but it may not be everyone’s cup of hot water heated in a tin can.

Thanks, @NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for the Digital Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. US Pub Date 24 May 2022