Customer Reviews

T. C. Boyle Stories

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

T.C. Boyle is probably one of the greatest contemporary (and most under-read) American authors that we have. I have read many of Boyle's novels, and though while not being a fan of the short story genre, I thought I would give this massive collection of 70 short stories a try. If anything it has made me a greater fan of this talented author. Boyle excels in the shorter format bringing us tales that are highly imaginative. A warning to the Boyle uninitiated, these stories are very eccentric with a lot of dark humor throughout. Just when you think the author could not come up with a more a possibly more bizarre premise, he tops it in a later story.

Boyle has a wonderful command of language and readers will be amazed by how he can created a total picture with minimal words. For example, in a story I read recently, he wrote "the house... seemed almost to sink under the weight of its mortgage." Boyle consistently creates this kind of amazing imagery throughout these stories. From full-body condoms to a struggling game safari in the California desert to a women who keeps squirrels as pets - it is almost guaranteed that you have never read anything as original or inventive as these Boyle stories. Do yourself a favor and pick up "T.C. Boyle Stories" -- and take your time and savor (I usually read a handful of stories between novels)!

T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite modern short-story writers (William Trevor is another) and you can drop in on any of these and be swept into his quirky worldview and be out in less than 20 minutes. The same can't be said for his overwrought, baggy novels but thank goodness for this collection that keeps it altogether (now I can throw out all those paperback editions of his short fiction). There are too many wonderful stories to choose a favorite here but here's a suggestion for prospective buyers. Go to a favorite bookstore that let's you sit and read, pick any story in this volume and read it and if you like it, go home and order it here. THE REST IS EASY because T.C. Boyle's a very consistent writer of short fiction and if you like one, you'll like most all of 'em.

I read the last short story in this collection (Filthy with Things) in a collection of short stories, essays, and excerpts that writers considered to be among their better work (called This is My Best -- recommended, by the way). That story caused me to put TC Boyle on my list of authors to read more from, so I was glad to see this giant volume of short stories from him!

The book is divided into three parts: Love, Death, and Everything In-Between. I have to say that overall, I liked the stories in the last part best. The stories in Love were often more about betrayal (and lots of physical stuff); in the stories in Death, it often seemed that Boyle would create characters just to torture them.

But even with all that meanness, I found most of the stories enjoyable on some level. Boyle is a brilliant writer, turning a phrase just so and showing that he's researched every subject very thoroughly. His wit is very dry and yes, often very mean, which can be fun, especially when his characters are unlovable, which they so often are. But they really just reflect the flaws in all of us, so we can see where the folly of our ways can lead. I like that some of the stories (well, most of them) are so absurd and over-the-top as to be almost believable.

Stories include: Lassie being conflicted over saving Timmy and falling for a skinny, shabby, dangerous coyote; a modern guy dating Jane Austen; Jack Kerouac as the "beatest" mama's boy ever; a highly disturbed boy and his bees; a flashback to when starlings were introduced to the US (featuring, I learned after Googling him, the real guy who introduced them, with the facts pretty much in agreement with the websites I found); an ingenious scheme to get around tariffs; a couple's experience with an "organizer," who helps them pare down their possessions; and many more too diverse to be believed.

As I said, the stories are all very smartly written, often exploring historical characters. I enjoyed most all of them very much, despite all the bloodshed and heartbreak, and look forward to reading more from Boyle.

T. C. Boyle is a master of short stories. In this 700 page tome, Boyle covers the gamut of subjects in a funny, witty, and satirical way. His writing style offers an amusing, introspective, and memorable view of American culture. This one is as entertaining as any book I have read.

The first book I read of Boyle's was Tortilla Curtain. I have been HOOKED ever since. I am not usually a fan of short stories, I tend to prefer novels for more at length character development and situations (blah blah blah). T.C. Boyle is amazing - you can get all of that in a ten page story! This is the best collection of short stories that I own and I re-read them many times over. I also bought two copies and gave them as gifts to friends whom have not read any Boyle. (And they were very impressed with the stories) You can't lose with this collection. His stories are full and rich with detail. They are great for bathtub reading, plane trips or when you don't have a lot of time. You can get an entire experience out of just a few pages and not feel cheated. The only other short stories I have enjoyed this much are those by Roald Dahl. So - that must say A LOT for T.C. Boyle!

This selection of Tc Boyle is brilliant being humerous and depressing at the same time. His ability to speedily describe personalities combined with the above gives an insight in to the darker mindsets of human, perhaps particularily american atitudes to life. Always wanting you to want to read another story.

This is an excellent collection of varied stories. All come at some different direction like dreams and continue in a fast pace. The unexpected will arrive and thrill you, knock you over and make you think of endless possibilities. His descriptions are as good as anyone who has held a pen. Read these stories for the authors play with words and often thrilling movement.

This book is indispensable, and what's more, it will provide you with hours of thrilling, hilarious and heartbreaking reading. Broken up into three sections: Love, Death, And Everything In-between, "TCB Stories" is a single book that will sustain nearly any taste, because TCB is able to master so many disparate personas and styles in these stories. If you like smart, insanely well-written, exciting and bizarre, you will not be disappointed. But if you're looking for beauty, understatement, and heartbreak, you'll find that here too. Experiments in form? Stunning metaphors? Social commentary? Yes. Also quiet character-driven pieces, monologues, and love stories. Quite frankly, this book's got it all. Bring it with you on a road-trip, or backpacking in Europe and you won't need to pack anything else. You will revisit this book again and again, you will find yourself referencing it in conversations, and most importantly you will LOVE reading it. TCB understands that you don't ever have to sacrifice excitement in order to be serious lit or in order to have deep thematic undertones -- which means that you might not even notice the implications as you're breathlessly rushing through the plot . . . until you put it down and ponder and then it hits you: wow, these are brilliant on just about every level.

T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite short story writers; he has a marvelously skewed view of life and his characters often find themselves in situations that the average human being encounters only in nightmares or drug-enduced reveries. He illuminates the basic truths of life in with an imagination that is unlike any other writer I've read. This collection spans the broad spectrum of his short stories; there is a little bit of everything here, love/hate, death, relationships, life in general. From the whimsical to the deadly serious, these stories will capture the imagination of the reader whose mind is open to them.

This collection of Boyle's fiction is big enough to make a great doorstop, but don't you dare use it that way! His muscular and sometimes head-spinning use of the English language is matched only by his wonderfully strange plot lines (full-body condoms in "Modern Love" or death by bee stings in "King Bee"). Sometimes he will make you sigh in the deep sadness of families torn apart by alcohol ("If the River Was Whiskey"), or laugh out loud with the viciousness of food critics ("Sorry Fugu"). Long after Boyle leaves this world, people will read his work. If you love great writing, buy this book. If you're an aspiring writer, devour this book.