T. C. Boyle

Easton Press T. C. Boyle books

World's End - signed modern classic - 2014

Franklin Library T. C. Boyle books

The Road to Wellville - signed first edition - 1993
Riven Rock - signed first edition - 1998

 

Author T. C. Boyle

T. Coraghessan Boyle, widely known as T.C. Boyle, is an American novelist and short story writer renowned for his distinctive and often satirical writing style. Born on December 2, 1948, in Peekskill, New York, he developed a passion for literature early in life. Boyle earned his Bachelor of Arts in English and History from the State University of New York at Potsdam in 1968. He later pursued a Ph.D. in Nineteenth-Century British Literature at the University of Iowa but left the program without completing his degree.

Boyle's writing career took off in the late 1970s with the publication of his short stories in various literary magazines. His first collection, Descent of Man, was published in 1979, garnering critical acclaim for its sharp wit and keen observations on human nature. Throughout his career, Boyle has continued to explore a wide range of themes, often delving into environmental issues, human relationships, and the absurdities of modern life. One of his most well-known novels, The Tortilla Curtain (1995), examines immigration issues in Southern California, highlighting the stark contrasts between different social classes. Boyle is also recognized for his ability to blend historical events with fictional narratives, as seen in works like The Women (2009), a novel based on the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Boyle's prolific output includes numerous novels and short story collections, such as World's End (1987), which won the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, and The Road to Wellville (1993), which was adapted into a film in 1994. His writing is characterized by a dark humor, intricate plots, and a penchant for exploring the absurdities of contemporary society.

Beyond his literary accomplishments, T.C. Boyle has taught creative writing at various institutions, including the University of Southern California, where he is a Distinguished Professor of English. His impact on American literature is marked by his ability to engage readers with thought-provoking stories that blend social commentary and entertainment, making him a distinctive and influential voice in contemporary fiction.

 

The Road to Wellville

Will Lightbody is a man with a stomach ailment whose only sin is loving his wife, Eleanor, too much. Eleanor is a health nut of the first stripe, and when in 1907 she journeys to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's infamous Battle Creek Spa to live out the vegetarian ethos, poor Will goes too.
So begins T. Coraghessan Boyle's wickedly comic look at turn-of-the-century fanatics in search of the magic pill to prolong their lives or the profit to be had from manufacturing it. Brimming with a Dickensian cast of characters and laced with wildly wonderful plot twists, Jane Smiley in The New York Times Book Review called The Road to Wellville "a marvel, enjoyable from beginning to end."

Riven Rock

An extraordinary and heartbreaking love story set during America's age of innocence and against a backdrop of wealth and privilege.

In Riven Rock, T.C. Boyle transforms two real people from the pages of American history into rich mythic creations whose tortured love and epic story is intimate enough to break our hearts.

Boyle anchors his unforgettable tale with the remarkable and courageous Katherine Dexter. Her husband, Stanley McCormick, thirty-one-year-old son of the millionaire inventor of the Reaper, has become schizophrenic and a sexual maniac. Stanley is locked up in his Santa Barbara mansion and forbidden the mere sight of women above all, his wife. Throughout her career as a scientist and suffragette, Katherine's faith never wavers: that, one day, one of the many psychiatrists she hires to try to cure her husband will free him of his demons.

One of America's most imaginative contemporary novelists, Boyle weaves his hallmark virtuoso prose into a masterful epic. Textured with his acclaimed humor, versatility, and imagination, Riven Rock is his most fully realized and compassionate novel to date.

 

World's End

This multi-generational novel ranges over the history of the Hudson River Valley from the late seventeenth century to the late 1960s with low humor, high seriousness, and magical, almost hallucinatory prose. It follows the interwoven destinies of families of Indians, lordly Dutch patrons, and yeomen.

The novel is set in the fictional town of Peterskill, which is loosely based on the real-life town of Peekskill in upstate New York.

World's End is known for its complex narrative structure and intricate storytelling. The novel spans several centuries, exploring the history of the region and the people who inhabit it. It touches on themes of colonization, environmental issues, and the impact of history on the present. The story revolves around a variety of characters, and as it unfolds, it weaves together historical events with the lives of those who live in Peterskill. Boyle's writing is often characterized by its dark humor, social commentary, and exploration of human behavior.