A Friend of the Earth [Paperback]

T. C. Boyle (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Viking (1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670891770
• ISBN-13: 978-0670891771
• ASIN: B000BX7Z72
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

More About the Author

T. C. Boyle is the author of eleven novels, including World's End (winner of the PEN/FaulknerAward), Drop City (a New York Times bestseller and finalist for the National Book Award), and The Inner Circle. His most recent story collections are Tooth and Claw and The Human Fly and Other Stories.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Friends of Good Writing, January 1, 2006

By 

B. Musler "History Gamer" (New York, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Friend of the Earth (Paperback)

While it's true that the protagonist of this book is an eco-terrorist, he is also a father and husband and this is a novel primarily concerned with reconciling family life with personal responsibility to create a life that makes some kind of sense. In this Ty Tierwater is a self professed failure and so I don't believe Boyle intended this as a "message" novel. While Boyle's research adds immeasurably to the appeal of the story interpreting it exclusively through the lens of eco-politics is a mistake that will rob one of its considerable pleasures. (And to measure it by the conventions of science fiction is beside the point entirely.)

So why should you read this book? Because the sentences burst with flavor in your mouth. Also because it's a wonderfully crafted novel. The first person narration is convincing to the point that I completely identified with Ty even as I came to realize he was in many ways a self destructive crank likely to do as much harm as good to those around him. The book's time structure -- jumping from past to present -- is an effective technique for helping the reader trace evolving relationships (especially between Ty, wife Andrea, and daughter Sierra) and understand the impact of decisions over time. And finally, Ty tells his story with passion and intelligence in spite of an enroaching emotional exhaustion that matches the degradation fo the biosphere (a terrific act of authorial slight of hand, btw.)

Ecopolitics and craft aside, when you come right down to it the reason to read "A Friend of the Earth," is because Boyle creates an unforgettable character in Ty Tierwater. Love him or hate him, you won't forget him...or this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More great prose from T.C. Boyle, December 1, 2000

By 

Edward - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Friend of the Earth (Hardcover)

Having read all of T.C. Boyle's previous novels, I knew when I picked up A Friend of the Earth that I would be treated to this author's elegant and poetic writing style. I was not disappointed. This man can truly turn a phrase: a girl has "hair the color of midnight in a cave." Wildflowers are "on fire in the fields." And that's what kept me going until the end of the novel. I didn't find the plot particularly riveting andI wasn't drawn to any of the characters. But the pure poetry of T.C. Boyle's prose carried me along as if I were floating down a clear mountain stream. If you're concerned about global-warming, the rape of the forests by the timber industry, and the struggle to save the Earth from the clutches of humanity--a species that insists on reproducing and using up every last vestige of the Earth's resources, then read this book. If not, you may enjoy it anyway, if only for the beautiful writing contained herein.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Eco-Dystopian Fiction with a Distinctive Voice!, December 13, 2000

By 

"marycarrieh" (Northeastern United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Friend of the Earth (Hardcover)

T. C. Boyle's A Friend of the Earth addresses that most difficult challenge--how to write about the near-future and the changes that may come to us all while sustaining the reader's belief and interest. In the year 2025, as Boyle imagines it, global warming and pollution have radically transformed the Earth's ecosphere, and the protagonist's past as an environmental activist and "monkeywrencher" is in ironic contrast with the world he now inhabits, where he works to protect a handful of endangered animals in the private zoo of a reclusive pop star.

Ty Tierwater is, as one might expect, a protagonist who has lost his energy and passion--an existentialist without much reason to go on. There is always something risky about writing a book which turns on the memories of such a dispirited character, and indeed the flashback scenes (to the 1980s and 1990s) have far more vitality than the sections of the book set in 2025. It's a fascinating literary choice, albeit one which takes away from the book's momentum and appeal. Those who love Boyle's characteristic humor will also be disappointed, but, as one friend remarked "there are some things that just aren't funny." At the end of the day, though, A Friend of the Earth is a truly thoughtful book and a work of great integrity.