Rating: 
Summary: Jack-Of-All-Trades Writer if I ever saw one
Review: Trying to characterize the works of Boyle is difficult in and of themselves. The man is a master of writing in just about any style he tries his hand at. And most of his stories are brilliant, fun reads, which is reportedly what the author himself desires from his own work.Boyle is best known as a satirist but never let it be said he can't or doesn't venture into other realms as well. Though many of his stories are satires--and very good ones at that--he is also able to construct deadly serious stories like "Drowning", "Rara Avis" and "Greasy Lake" where if there is any humor you're not likely to find it. Other stories, like "Bloodfall" are just plain strange and again, not really funny. But Boyle's humor really made this volume for me. He gleefully pokes fun at Presidential sex scandals long before any had ever heard of Monica Lewinski ("Ike and Nina"), hypochondriacs ("Modern Romance"), animal rights ("Carnal Knowledge"), the hollowness of national politics ("The New Moon Party"), and even religious ecstasy ("The Miracle of Balinspittle"). And "familiar faces" like Jack Kerouac, Carry Nation, Lassie, and Idi Amin show up to add to the absurdity of their own images being turned on edge. And other writers like Hemmingway and Kafka have their own works given unique retoolings. Boyle's range is so great, it's probably worth noting the closest he has to a reoccuring character is a chimp named Konrad ("The Descent of Man", "The Ape Lade in Retirment"), and even these two stories are as different from each other as night and day. Boyle's works are certainly worth a look.
Rating:
Summary: Lucky few if you are reading this review
Review: Well, there's a lot of people when you mention T.C. Boyle say who? That's bad for them cuz everyone should read this book. It seems to me, other than giving a 5 star buy this collection of short stories rating, that I want to mention two things: 1)T.C. Boyle writes like a modern-day Raymond Carver, only less bitter and 2)hes's good at situational fiction -- that is, he puts his characters in unique places(a safari,etc) or unique circumstances and lets them deal with it. It's a unique approach, and I hope that you buy this book.
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