Rating: 
Summary: beautiful and compelling
Review: Boyle creates deep and memorable characters and keeps the reader involved in an intriguing plot that is based on the crossing over of history between three families in the 17th and 20th centuries. The story of the settling of New York blends with a history of absent fathers. The writing is uniformly beautiful and the story compelling. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: beautiful and compelling
Review: Boyle creates deep and memorable characters and keeps the reader involved in an intriguing plot that is based on the crossing over of history between three families in the 17th and 20th centuries. The story of the settling of New York blends with a history of absent fathers. The writing is uniformly beautiful and the story compelling. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Whew... I thought it would never end!
Review: First and foremost, I am an incredible fan of TC Boyle. I picked up "World's End" about 5 years ago (1994) with the hopes of encountering the same story-telling prose I found in his collection of short stories, "If the River Were Whiskey." I made my way through the first few chapters and soon realized, that even with a cast of characters for reference, I was lost. I put the book down and subsequently read his other works: "The Road to Wellville", "East is East", "Descent of Man"... all of which, I think are superior works of literature. I decided to re-visit "World's End" and forced myself through it. It took a while but chapter-by-chapter, I was committed. And it was painful. And taunting. BUT -- it was also classic Boyle. In the end, I enjoyed the adventure and the history lesson (is it true?). My recommendation is this: if you're not a Boyle fan and have not read any of his other work, DO NOT start with "World's End". Read his other works first. You'll appreciate "World's End" that much more... Viva TC Boyle!
Rating:
Summary: T.C. Boyle's finest work.
Review: Having, over the years, enjoyed T.C Boyle's numerous short stories in "The New Yorker," I recently picked up a few of his novels, including: "Water Music," a hysterical, bodice-ripping romp through 18th century England, and that too-proud nation's declaration of ownership over every tract of land it's countrymen set foot in -- even when their explorers are speared to death by natives; "The Road to Wellville," another very funny (and historically significant) statement on America's obsession with all things healthy, and finally, Boyle's watershed work, "World's End." Many readers and reviewers toss off Boyle as a simple satarist -- and they do have a valid, if simple, argument. But with "World's End," Boyle reaches beyond stereotypes and puts his language-drunk prose to it's best purpose, creating a vivid cast of credible, and complex, multi-generational carachters -- many with GOOD points, as well as bad. This novel is fairly dripping with history, languidly lapsing from the 1600s to the 1960s and back, prompting smiles, laughter and the occasional fit of anger. "World's End" is no simple satire. It's a fully drawn, breathing work of literary art. It became my favorite novel by page 5, and I am anxious to read it again, once I've been through the rest of the Boyle canon. (NOTE: of his short stories, "Filthy With Things" is a particular favorite of mine; it must hold some significance for T.C. as well, being the final work in his recently released anthology.)
Rating: 
Summary: Boyle neophyte writes review without context
Review: I kept hearing T.C. Boyle's name bandied about. He's in that rarefied second tier of authors, popular enough to keep getting published and talked about, but not so popular that he isn't taken seriously. I'd get the occasional recommendation, suffered quizzical condescension at the admission that "No I've never read any of his". So his name was swirling around in the subconscious miasma and some synapse fired as my eyes passed the smattering of Boyle offerings that graced the shelves of a second hand book store. The two titles that came to mind were "Budding Prospects" and "The Tortilla Curtain", but alas neither was there. So I picked this book up on the strength of the "Pen/Faulkner Award" advertised on the front. In an ideal world, I would have a few books waiting to be read so that I would never find myself in a book vacuum, reading whatever was at hand. In spite of my better self, I find myself in this situation about once a year; Done with one book and with no selection in the wings. This book was a vacuum filler. World's End was never on my "to read" list or what would be my "to read" list were I the type to do such things. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed it. I'm glad I met Mr. Boyle in one of his less notable narratives. I've already made a strategic swap for "Budding Prospects" which I should get to some time this spring. World's End is not the first time I've been pleasantly surprised with a vacuum filler book I stumbled into. Last year, I encountered Charles Bukowski, a drunk womanizer, a Hemingway for the unshaven, when I perused my roommates bookshelf in the middle of one of my vacuums. Before that, I picked up a book that my roommate's girlfriend had accidentally left sitting on our coffee table when they left for a week in the Carribean. I was two-thirds done with "House of Leaves" (Mark Danielewski? something like that) upon their return and I prevailed upon her to let me finish. It was a fascinating book, but one which I never would made it on a long range planning list. The loosening of standards occasioned by being adrift keeps me nimble, prevents the ossification of my reading habits. After reading Anna Karenin, a memoir by Kissinger, and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (what was I thinking!) I was adrift. Adrift on a saturday morning I went to a garage sale next door and scavenged a box of books that they were giving away. It contained mostly silly self-help books and romance novels, but I ended up taking home a novel called "the Comedy Writer". It turns out this is a novel written by Peter Farrelly of the Farrelly Brothers who brought the world "Dumb and Dumber" and "There's Something About Mary". The novel was a semi-autbiographical story of a fellow in his early thirties who leaves a solid job on the east coast to try to make it as a script writer in Hollywood. Nothing earth shattering, not pulitzer material, but I was really glad I read it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes those silly movies. Blah blah blah. This was an enjoyable book.
Rating:
Summary: On second thought........ it's still brilliant!
Review: I published the following Amazon review anonymously a few years ago... here it is, revised, with the author now taking full credit, or blame: Having, over the years, enjoyed T.C Boyle's many short stories in "The New Yorker," I have collected a few of his novels, among them: "Water Music," a hysterical, bodice-ripping romp through 18th century England, and that too-proud nation's declaration of ownership over every tract of land it's countrymen set foot in -- even when their explorers are speared to death by natives; "The Road to Wellville," another very funny (and historically significant) statement on America's obsession with all things healthy, and finally, Boyle's watershed work, "World's End." Many readers and reviewers toss off Boyle as a simple satirist -- and they have a valid, if simple, argument. But with "World's End," Boyle reaches beyond stereotypes and puts his language-drunk prose to it's best purpose, creating a vivid cast of credible, and complex, multi-generational carachters (many with GOOD points, as well as bad). This novel is fairly dripping with history, languidly lapsing from the 1600s to the 1960s and back, prompting smiles, laughter and the occasional fit of anger. Simply put, "World's End" is no simple satire. It's a fully drawn, breathing work of literary art. It became my favorite novel by page 5, and I am anxious to read it again, once I've been through the rest of the Boyle canon. Since writing the above, I have been through "Budding Prospects," which is enjoyable but light on content and almost entirely lacks message; one would think Boyle would stump here for the legalization of marijuana... oh, well. (See my review for that book, soon to come at Amazon.) And a final note: of his short stories, "Filthy With Things" is a particular favorite of mine; it must hold some significance for T.C. as well, being the final work in his recently released anthology.) --This text refers to the Paperback edition
Rating:
Summary: local and universal
Review: This book is all about the struggles of mankind. In a way it is about class struggles, family struggles and life through the generations, but it doesn't read that way. It comes off as a great depiction of two notable dutch families in the hudson valley. It has engaging characters which keep a sort of continuity through the generations. Very well done, and especially interesting if you are dutch, live in the hudson valley region in new york, or have other ties to colonial america or earlier.
Rating: 
Summary: Worst book ever? Possibly.
Review: this book is easy to review: it's brilliant and funny. read it. you won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Fighting one's food
Review: This book is like crab. Crab? Yes, crab. Each taste is delicious (that is, deliciously well written). However, like getting at the tantalizing crabmeat, getting through the book is a fight. I don't like fighting my food and I did not enjoy fighting this book. Except for the struggle by Walter to find and understand his father Truman, I was constantly confused regarding the characters and their relationships. It was ultimately worth it, but only marginally. I think I should have started with another T.C. Boyle instead of this one, as other reviewers have suggested.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ!
Review: This is a fantastic book that captures the spirit of the Hudson River Valley as no other book I have read ever has. I Highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in this region as well as to anyone who is looking for a great story! Boyle is an amazing writer!
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