Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely stunning!
Review: Absolutely stunning!This book is totally amazing. Bleak, funny and skewed, this is like Coen Brothers meet Flannery O'Conner: weird and upsetting, but skillfully crafted and surprisingly heartfelt. Each story offers it's own secrets up in sly ways: sometimes tragedy, sometimes satire, sometimes told straight, sometimes a playful joke - - once you start reading this collection, you won't be able to put it down. Even just the story titles alone are intriguing enough to prompt a closer look: Death of the Cool . . . She Wasn't Soft . . . Termination Dust. One of the best collections I've ever read, I put this up there with Tim O'Brian and Tobias Wolf: Boyle is a master storyteller and he spans such a wide range of topics and tones it is astonishing. But Boyle is also, always, entertaining and surprising. Two thumbs up.
Rating:
Summary: Cure for Writer's Block!
Review: Boyle is an even better writer of short stories than of novels. There is no "time delay" as you struggle to get used to a new protagonist and a new world; like Updike his sentences draw you right in and you're hooked.
But Boyle doesn't, like some contemporaries, write a "slice of life" that's all language and no story! His stories have plot and often twists, including a likeable narrator who morphs into a killer before out eyes, a pair of teenage lovers who kill their baby, and the title story, set in a California following a devastating plague. But the point is always the insight Boyle demonstrates through his vivid, compassionate writing.
Some of the stories are macabre and wickedly funny (Black and White Sisters, about a pair of eccentric women who have turned their whole world the color of old movies and spare no lengths to complete it; The Death of Cool about an aging tv producer), others are more poignant (Killing Babies, set in an abortion lab, Captured by the Indians, about a young grad student-wife struggling to come to terms with her husband and her future)-- all are inspiring.
Boyle's writing somehow makes the idea of writing accessible. Like Fred Astaire, he makes it look easy. He makes you want to sit down at the keyboard! So it's a must not only for readers but for all writers, too.
Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Anthology
Review: I admire T.C. Boyle's short stories very much and appreciate his irony and the skewed world view he illustrates so well in his fiction. The quality of the stories in this collection did not disappoint me; however, I was disappointed to see at least two stories ("Mexico" and "The Love of My Life") that I had already read in previous versions of his works. But no matter; whether you are new to Boyle or a seasoned reader like me, if you are ready to take an off-centered look at the world, dive into Boyle. I think you'll really enjoy the trip.
Rating:
Summary: Another Excellent Anthology
Review: I admire T.C. Boyle's short stories very much and appreciate his irony and the skewed world view he illustrates so well in his fiction. The quality of the stories in this collection did not disappoint me; however, I was disappointed to see at least two stories ("Mexico" and "The Love of My Life") that I had already read in previous versions of his works. But no matter; whether you are new to Boyle or a seasoned reader like me, if you are ready to take an off-centered look at the world, dive into Boyle. I think you'll really enjoy the trip.
Rating: 
Summary: Darkly funny stories!
Review: I enjoyed this short-story collection. Boyle uses a rather interesting brand of dark humor centered mostly on male characters. My favorite story is "Killing Babies." This story about an abortion doctor is the darkest one in the book. There are other great stories that enthralled me, like "Death of the Cool" and "Friendly Skies." I marvel at Boyle's crisp, sharp wit. I see that this author is known for writing historical novels -- but he's just as good as writing contemporary tales. This is an interesting collection. Give it a try if you are at all interested in black, earnest humor.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Collection -- Don't Miss It!
Review: I'm more familiar with Boyle's silly Victorian epics, like The Road to Wellville and Riven Rock, so it was a surprise to me to see him writing short stories set in the present day. Still, the stories show a degree of thematic unity. "Termination Dust" is about a lonely Alaskan man driven insane with rage when the object of his affections is stolen away by a womanizing amputee. In "Killing Babies," an ex-con and recovering addict tries to clean up by working at his brother's abortion clinic, only to snap and bludgeon several protestors to death. "Mexico" tells the story of a timid, pudgy man who wins a vacation to Mexico but confines himself to the hotel bar. He puts the moves on a (...) female boxer, but loses all respect in her eyes when he gets mugged on the beach in front of her and fails to defend himself; incensed at his crappy luck, he gets roaring drunk and returns to the beach to tear the head off the first shady native he sees. "Death of the Cool" is the tale of a musical has-been who turns a gun on a burglar for mocking his failed career. By way of variety, the violent protagonist of "Friendly Skies" is a woman, who leaps on an obnoxious passenger and stabs him repeatedly in the face with a fork. The invariably violent climax to these stories swiftly becomes tiresome and difficult to believe, nor does it reveal any particularly profound truths about the men and women depicted. This is not to say there aren't some really good stories here, too. "The Love of My Life" is a cynical tale of the swift death of puppy love in the face of adversity. Two infatuated teens screw up and pay dearly, and learn just how much young love means (answer: not much) when the going gets rough. By contrast, "Rust" tells about the slow, agonizing death of an old couple after a backyard accident. Once passionate lovers who left their spouses to be with each other, they've outlived their love and fallen into infirmity and alcohol-soaked routine. "Going Down" is not terribly interesting in itself, but is a meta-story containing a fascinating pretend novel that I really, really wish existed. Reading during a snowstorm, the protagonist becomes so absorbed in the novel that he fails to notice his wife's absence, and when the cops show up at his door, he begs for them to wait until he can finish his book. The eponymous "After the Plague" is a post-apocalyptic love story whose cheery ending contrasts oddly, but refreshingly, with the other, infinitely grimmer pieces. (...).Plague is an inventive and entertaining collection of stories. Check it out! (...)
Rating:
Summary: No Quarantining Boyle's Plague
Review: Taken as a whole, the sixteen stories in After the Plague go about their virulent work in two ways. First, there's the devastating attack on the body: Boyle's willingness to plunge deep into society's ever-festering issues, from abortion to violent crime. Next, there's the skewering assault on the brain: the author's sustained tour-de-force of technique, making each of his troubled protagonists seem more vivid than our own best friend, or worst enemy. The combination makes for informed storytelling that borders on extended prose-poetry. And it kills utterly. For "literary fiction" lovers looking for some strong poison, there's much to recommend by way of content in After the Plague. From an airplane carrying one passenger on the brink of "air rage" to the home of a bartender logged on to pornography, Boyle renders each of his contemporary settings with digital-sharp resolution - right down to the salty peanuts and explicit banner advertising. In these and other stories concerned with recent headlines, stories like "Killing Babies" and "The Love of My Life", Boyle always exposes the conflicted man or woman behind the sensationalistic misdeed. ("Another unwanted child in an overpopulated world?" muses one teenager in the latter story. "They should have given him a medal." You'll have to read it to discover what heroic act makes Jeremy so deserving.) Boyle often takes the tabloid as his starting point, only to create mature art that's the antithesis of schlock. But it's Boyle's craftsmanship, and specifically, his mastery of the close third person voice, that make After the Plague likely to outlive much of today's fiction. Consider this opening passage from "She Wasn't Soft", an account of one tri-athlete attempting to leap the hurdles of her competitors, her own body, and her indifferent, pot-smoking boyfriend. "She wasn't tender, she wasn't soft, she wasn't sweetly yielding or coquettish, and she was nobody's little woman and never would be. That had been her mother's role, and look at the sad sack of neuroses and alcoholic dysfunction she'd become." Note the "She", and not "I". But even as we meet Paula Turk through the perspective of a semi-detached narrator, we feel like we're getting a first-hand introduction. It's exhilarating to see a writer of so much political intelligence, so much stylistic exuberance, allow his less wise and less articulate characters "possess" him so fully on the page. Paula may not have the consummate vocabulary of Boyle. She probably doesn't possess the same gift for metaphor, or aptitude for prose rhythm. It's unlikely she'd describe herself this way. Only her author can do that, and while we're aware of Boyle's presence in every sly, subordinate clause, we're also intimately connected to the desperate ambition that is Paula Turk. Despite all his eloquence, Boyle is rarely swayed to speak *for* his characters. Rather, they almost always speak *through* him. Not every story is told from this perspective, and not all take the seedier segments of the 11 o'clock news as their departure point. Two are fanciful stories of love, one in its nascent stage ("The Underground Gardens") and the other in its final one ("My Widow"). Some stories are told in a convincing and poignant first person, like "Achates MacNeil," which relates a college student's bitter reunion with his famous, novelist father. All of the stories in After the Plague, however, blend riveting style with thoughtful substance. The two strains, acting together, are lethal. Like victims of an epidemic, readers may feel infected with something strange and powerful here: something cathartic and possibly deadly. With After the Plague, at least it feels good.
Rating:
Summary: Boyle Survives "Plague"
Review: There is little doubt TC Boyle is among the finest American short story writers out there today. While Boyle has authored many notable and successful novels, his wonderfully unique and sardonic views of humanity seem to stay better afloat in the shorter form. As with his mammoth short story collection "TC Boyle Stories," these works are not for the conservative reader. In reading this latest collection, one needs no further evidence that Boyle is always thinking "outside the box." He gives readers a thrilling reading experience -- a true rarity in fiction these days! From a boyfriend's sadistically botched attempt to help out his girlfriend in a triathlon competition to a pair of senior citizens meeting a pitch-black humorous end in their backyard -- it is unlikely you have ever read anything like this before. Having attended a Boyle reading/book signing for this work in October 2001, the author admitted that works like "Friendly Skies" (about passenger "air rage") and the title story (a look at two surly survivors after Ebola wipes out much of the world as we know it) take on an unintentionally eerie spin in a post-September 11th world. For fans of the author, there is probably little need for any type of recommendation, but for the uninitiated "After The Plague and Other Stories" is certainly a worthwhile and entertaining introduction into the wild, and sometimes warped, world of TC Boyle.
Rating:
Summary: Boyle Survives "Plague"
Review: There is little doubt TC Boyle is among the finest American short story writers out there today. While Boyle has authored many notable and successful novels, his wonderfully unique and sardonic views of humanity seem to stay better afloat in the shorter form. As with his mammoth short story collection "TC Boyle Stories," these works are not for the conservative reader. In reading this latest collection, one needs no further evidence that Boyle is always thinking "outside the box." He gives readers a thrilling reading experience -- a true rarity in fiction these days! From a boyfriend's sadistically botched attempt to help out his girlfriend in a triathlon competition to a pair of senior citizens meeting a pitch-black humorous end in their backyard -- it is unlikely you have ever read anything like this before. Having attended a Boyle reading/book signing for this work in October 2001, the author admitted that works like "Friendly Skies" (about passenger "air rage") and the title story (a look at two surly survivors after Ebola wipes out much of the world as we know it) take on an unintentionally eerie spin in a post-September 11th world. For fans of the author, there is probably little need for any type of recommendation, but for the uninitiated "After The Plague and Other Stories" is certainly a worthwhile and entertaining introduction into the wild, and sometimes warped, world of TC Boyle.
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Collection -- Don't Miss It!
Review: What's so awesome about this collection is that not only will it tickle you pink if you're a voracious reader, but if you need something to give to the budding-intellectual in your life [graduation present, anyone?] this is the perfect gift. These stories are thrilling. Basically in every way. From the line-by-line unbelievable prose style, to the depth of the funny & heartbreaking characters, to the page-turning plot, these stories are weird and sad and, basically just thrilling. This is such a satisfying and great book. You will revisit it 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.
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