T.C. Boyle–a sampling of the author's dazzling dark humor
A FRIEND OF THE EARTH****
by T.C(oraghessen) Boyle
Bloomsbury, 2000
Since his first novel, Water Music, T.C. Boyle has wittingly or unwittingly alternated between historical and contemporary themes. After turn-of-the-century Riven Rock, it would have been time, once again, for a present-day piece. But Boyle has gone one better and given us a piece of tomorrow.
A Friend of the Earth is set in California, 25 years in the future, and is the story of Tyrone O’Shaughnessy Tierwater, shopping center heir-cum-eco-terrorist-cum-animal handler.
At 75, he belongs to the demographic group referred to as the “young old”—contributing members of society with bodies in varying degrees of decay but with minds, thanks to medical and pharmaceutical advances, as sharp as those far their junior. (Very important in a society without a functioning social security system.) “Ty” is working for a rock star reminiscent of Michael Jackson, tending his private zoo of unlovable, endangered animals, when his ex-wife bursts back into his life, dredging up memories from the past.
To reveal much more about Boyle’s view of the future would be to spoil it for the reader. A Friend of Earth is not a tale of transporters and space ships, androids and unlimited energy sources. It is bleak. Technically, Boyle’s latest is science fiction, but its strength lies in the fact that it feels so very familiar, so plausible, so real.
OTHER BOOKS BY T.C. BOYLE:
Water Music,1980
This is a fictional account of the 18th-century Scottish physician and explorer Mungo Park and his quest to reach and chart the Niger River. Excellent writing, dry humor and engaging characters, such as Park’s African interpreter, Johnson, make this a worthwhile read, even for those of us who normally would never consider a historical travelogue as recreational reading.
Budding Prospects, 1984
As contemporary as Water Music is historical, Budding Prospects is a light and humorous tale of the trials and tribulations of three friends trying to earn a cool and tax-free half million dollars by tending a marijuana farm in the rural hills of California.
World’s End, 1987
Boyle won the PEN/Faulkner Award for this wonderful novel, which is set in the Hudson River Valley and jumps back and forth from the 1960s, to the late 1600s, to the 1930s and 1940s. Funny, dark and touching, the story traces the history of three families, two Dutch and one Native American, in New York State.
East is East, 1990
An ostracized, half-breed Japanese man joins the merchant marine with the purpose of jumping ship off the coast of the United States and starting anew in the land of the free—only to wash ashore on an island writer’s colony in the deep south. Hilarious!
The Road to Wellville, 1993
Revolving around Dr. J. H. Kellogg’s (that’s right, of breakfast cereal fame) Battle Creek, Michigan, sanitarium, this is a story of dysfunctional families, sex lives and bowels. Director Alan Parker bought the rights to this tale dripping with Boyle’s characteristic black humor, but, as with most films based on brilliant books, it fell well short of the novel. Fascinating on many levels, The Road to Wellville may strike some chords in fellow expats in Germany—read it and see for yourself.
The Tortilla Curtain, 1995
Boyle’s second novel with a contemporary California theme is much blacker and infused with much less comedy than all its predecessors. It centers on two couples—one liberal, suburban and American, the other poor, illegal and Mexican. For anyone with a conscience, this can be a painful read, but too important to avoid.
Riven Rock, 1998
Set in the early 20th century, Riven Rock is based on the true story of millionaire inventor Stanley McCormick and his wife Katherine Dexter. It is the lengthy but riveting story of a man so severely schizophrenic that he is locked away in his own private mansion and forbidden even the sight of a woman. Once again, Boyle serves up fascinating reading with rich historical detail.
