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T. Coraghessan Boyle

Wild Child: and Other Stories Hardcover – January 21, 2010

by T.C. Boyle (Author)

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A superb new collection from "a writer who can take you anywhere" (The New York Times)

In the title story of this rich new collection, T.C. Boyle has created so vivid and original a retelling of the story of Victor, the feral boy who was captured running naked through the forests of Napoleonic France, that it becomes not just new but definitive: yes, this is how it must have been. The tale is by turns magical and moving, a powerful investigation of what it means to be human.

There is perhaps no one better than T.C. Boyle at engaging, shocking, and ultimately gratifying his readers while at the same time testing his characters' emotional and physical endurance. The fourteen stories gathered here display both Boyle's astonishing range and his imaginative muscle. Nature is the dominant player in many of these stories, whether in the form of the catastrophic mudslide that allows a cynic to reclaim his own humanity ("La Conchita") or the wind-driven fires that howl through a high California canyon ("Ash Monday"). Other tales range from the drama of a man who spins Homeric lies in order to stop going to work, to that of a young woman who must babysit for a $250,000 cloned Afghan and the sad comedy of a child born to Mexican street vendors who is unable to feel pain.

Brilliant, incisive, and always entertaining, Boyle's short stories showcase the mischievous humor and socially conscious sensibility that have made him one of the most acclaimed writers of our time.

Print length

320 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Viking
Publication date

January 21, 2010
Dimensions

6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0670021423
ISBN-13

978-0670021420
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The title novella in Boyles's ninth collection is as good as anything the prolific author of The Women has written. Basing his story on the historical Victor of Aveyron, the feral child discovered in the wilds of France in 1797 and slowly brought to heel indoors under the patient but understandably frustrated doctor Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard, Boyle interrogates history with an experienced reader's wariness of sentimental revisionism and a great writer's attention to precisely what defines the child's wildness. The 13 other stories are a grab bag of Boyles's signature modes and are, therefore, mixed. There's Question 62, a by-the-numbers suburban comedy concerning an escaped tiger; La Concita, a dutiful requiem for baby boomer ordinary guyism; and Sin Dolor, a bona fide Borgesian legend about a child whose inability to feel pain fails to protect him from more subtle wounds. Stronger material is found in The Lie, about a man who lies about his newborn baby's death to get out of work, comprising one of the book's few surprises. What's largely missing is experimentation, intimacy and deviation from a catalogue throughout which Boyle has proven himself doggedly reliable; one wonders when this wild child got housebroken. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Boyle has created another successful collection of stories, with its unapologetic exaggeration, vivid settings, and gloomy but likable protagonists. Although Boyle operates under a singular theme--ordinary people succumbing to their baser instincts--critics were greatly impressed with his ability to craft 14 distinct story lines. The Los Angeles Times reviewer likened Boyle to his feral character Victor, calling him "that literary wild child whose flights of narrative fancy refuse to be domesticated." And while the New York Times critic felt the shorter stories were contrived and incomplete, the majority agreed that Wild Child is a refreshing, bold, and marvelous new collection.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Viking; First Edition (January 21, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0670021423
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0670021420
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.15 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.25 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,669,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #52,090 in Short Stories (Books)

Customer Reviews:
55 ratings

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T. Coraghessan Boyle

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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

5 star		44%
4 star		31%
3 star		12%
2 star		6%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Short Review for Short Stories at their Best

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 9, 2011

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This is a short review to encourage readers who love short stories to be sure to add this one to your collection. Readers of long novels: Here's your chance to expand your horizon. All of the stories held my interest with Wild Child being the longest & best of the lot. This is a great book to keep at the beach house or guest bedroom so visitors who are looking for "a little something" to read on a quiet summer afternoon can pick up & finish in one sitting.

I usually shy away from books read by the author as not too many do justice to their own works. T.C. Boyle is on of the few exceptions. As a reader of audio books I can say that Boyle is up there with Scott Brick & Jim Dale.

2 people found this helpful

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Tamara Sheely Summers

Wild Child ends abruptly.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 30, 2019

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Enjoyed all the stories, but the title story, the last and longest in the collection, ended abruptly as though the author was just tired of writing. I am a fan of T.C. Boyle and was interested in this collection after reading Talk Talk, which has some similar themes, plot elements, and characters, but more fully developed. This collection was enjoyable but not his best.

One person found this helpful

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Dr J ReadsTop Contributor: Poetry Books

Brief...but Not that Brief

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 27, 2017

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Not the most engaging set of short stories I have ever read, but worth it for those who wish to explore T.C. Boyle's writing without first committing to a larger novel. Boyle's insights are occasionally surprising, and his writing has depth and quality. There is a mingling here of history and other explorations. The length of the title story may turn some readers off who wish to experience stories of a slightly shorter format.

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Cynthia Frederick

Strangely, the title story, which appears at the ...

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 21, 2017

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Strangely, the title story, which appears at the end of the collection, is completely out of tune with the rest of the tales in terms of pacing, vocabulary, tone and voice. It was interesting, but the rest of the stories are far more compelling. I will probably read it again - some of the stories have that much punch.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 20, 2015

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*I had to read this for a class*
+There are couple good stories in here.
-There are a couple boring storie in here
+/- There are a few OK stories in here
Not at all a bad book, but definitely not something to spend more than a class or two talking/writing about.

One person found this helpful

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Susan Day

T. C. Boyle in Small Doses: a Bedside Reader for Boyle Lovers

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 11, 2016

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I enjoy T. C.Boyle's crazy outlook on subjects he chooses to write about, but i think I like having a whole novel to develop them in. This collection is clearly recognizable as Boyle, even in short form

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