Louie Anderson once again brings the struggles of his life to print, and opens up his heart and soul. I found this book even better than his first. I hope he decides to keep writing, he is very talented at bringing the reader into his situation.

Funny and poignant, from Anderson's heart and stomach are a guide to life, coping, eating, love, comedy, and performing. Also manages to be downright hilarious with straight-ahead stand-up comedy. Somehow it all works. And very nicely, too. Inspired and inspiring.

Louie Anderson does a wonderful job of revealing the true self. Especially the dialogue where he becomes Jumbo the elephant. He never mentioned a Love interest (human, not food) who could be support he so needed during these transitions he struggled with, the treadmill, death of his mom, selling the home, etc. Louie remains a real human, down to earth, complete with dysfunctional family. It was difficult to see him as the superstar wealthy comedian image we see. Whether it is food or some other controlling addiction, low self-esteem, children of alcoholics, pained school years, many can relate to his struggle. A good book by a funny man!

Having just read this book for a school assignment, I must say that is was quite entertaining. The variety of stories was wonderful and made for a very interesting collection of stories. The range of stories was incredible! Topics ranged from a boy obsessed with bees to an intimidating food critic to a mountain new years party to everything else under the sun. NOne of the stories are repetitive or boring or similar to the other stories. This is truly a great read for people of all tastes!

T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite short story writers; he has a marvelously skewed view of life and his characters often find themselves in situations that the average human being encounters only in nightmares or drug-enduced reveries. He illuminates the basic truths of life in with an imagination that is unlike any other writer I've read. This collection spans the broad spectrum of his short stories; there is a little bit of everything here, love/hate, death, relationships, life in general. From the whimsical to the deadly serious, these stories will capture the imagination of the reader whose mind is open to them.

T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite modern short-story writers (William Trevor is another) and you can drop in on any of these and be swept into his quirky worldview and be out in less than 20 minutes. The same can't be said for his overwrought, baggy novels but thank goodness for this collection that keeps it altogether (now I can throw out all those paperback editions of his short fiction). There are too many wonderful stories to choose a favorite here but here's a suggestion for prospective buyers. Go to a favorite bookstore that let's you sit and read, pick any story in this volume and read it and if you like it, go home and order it here. THE REST IS EASY because T.C. Boyle's a very consistent writer of short fiction and if you like one, you'll like most all of 'em.

I discovered T.C. Boyle four or five years ago by accident, and a very happy accident it was.

While I love all his books ("Water Music" still makes me laugh until I cry), I have always had a love for anyone who can consistently write good short stories, and his are some of the best.

This book collects them all into loose categories instead of chronologies, which is far better. And while the "Love" collection starts the book, the most unusual and funniest stories are to be found in the "Everything Else In Between" category at the end of the book.

If you enjoy reading authors that continue to surprise you, read T. Coraghessan Boyle.

Having never read Vonnegut before, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. The title led me to expect some degree of science fiction. What I found was a collection of rich, wonderfully written stories about a wide assortment of subjects. Vonnegut is a great writer, pure and simple. Many of the stories dealt with the future and the state of society, and Vonnegut struck me as having a somewhat cynical yet witty view of the subject. I found the themes of his stories to be somewhat akin to my own fears of life as we will some day know it, in a world where the government attempts to create utopia on earth. Two of the more memorable stories found in these pages are "Harrison Bergeron" and "Welcome to the Monkey House." In the first story, we find the type of society that I fear the most, a socialist republic where all people are required to be equal; those who possess intelligence and pose the danger of actually thinking are controlled by implants which forcefully disallow any thought from entering their minds. In the latter, we find a Malthusian world of overpopulation where everyone takes pills to numb the lower halves of their bodies and people are encouraged to come to Federal Ethical Suicide Parlors and voluntarily remove themselves from the crowded world. Other stories deal with massive overpopulation troubles.

On the other hand, we find more simplistic stories in which Vonnegut conveys individuals in a deep, touching light, striking great chords of sympathy in this reader's mind. A woman who is obsessed with redecorating the houses of her neighbors yet cannot afford to buy decent furniture for her own house; a young woman who comes to a strange town, captivates everyone with her beauty, is criticized and publicly humiliated by a young man for being the kind of girl he could never win the heart of, and is richly shown to be an innocent, lonely soul; a teen who acts horribly because he has never had a real family but is saved from a life of crime by a teacher who makes the grand effort to save the boy--these are some of the many subjects dealt with by the author. There is even a heartfelt story about a young Russian and young American who are killed in space but who inspire understanding and détente between the two superpowers by bringing home the point that they were both young men with families who loved them and who had no desire for anything but peace--written during the height of the Cold War, that story really stood out to me.

All of the stories are not eminently satisfying to me, but the lion's share of them are; a couple of stories seemed to have been written for no other reason but to make the author some money, which is okay (especially since Vonnegut introduces the stories by saying he wrote them in order to finance his novel-writing endeavors). I may have been less than satisfied by a couple of stories, but even the worst of the lot was written wonderfully and obviously with much care, and I daresay that few writers could do better on their best day than Vonnegut does on his worst. Sometimes, as one ages, one fears that he will eventually have read all of the best books in the world, but then one discovers an author such as Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and it is one of the best and most exciting things that can happen to that person.

Kurt Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House" was more than just a book of short stories, it was a work of art. Mr. Vonnegut creates a perfect blend of comedy, drama, action and suspense. He has a certain way of having tons of detail but not so much that it bores you. You feel as much a part of the story as the characters. One of the stories, "Epicac," takes place when the first super computer is created. One night, a man stays late and talks about his love life with the machine. The computer has great solutions for him that work out for the man. Then, the computer burns out trying to figure out why he can't be loved. Another story, "Welcome to the Monkey House," takes place when the population is so massive that sex is outlawed. When a man refuses to take his hormonal pills, the police look for him. He then kidnaps a girl and takes her to a hidden place where he has sex with her. It changes the woman's feelings in the process. This is a great book for any reader. I was hesitant as many when about to embark on reading it but don't regret it at all. I suspect many who read it will also have a problem putting it down as i did.

If you like Vonnegut this collection of short stories is a must. This is the only book of short stories that I have ever read cover to cover. This is the only book I reread almost on a yearly basis.

I have give this book as a gift often to people suprise they say that it is Vonneguts best work. Unlike other short story writers, Vonnegut short stories different from one another and do not repeat the same boaring gimmics over and over.

"All the Kings Men" is about an insane game of Chess

"Eipac" is about a computer who becomes more than a computer.

"Who will I be today" is about two people who fall in love by not being themselves.

"DP" is about a half black / half German orphan who stumbles on a unit of american GI's during WWII

"Slow walk into tomarrow" is about an AWOL soldier who goes takes a walk with only woman that he could ever lovethe day before she is to marry another man. (THIS IS THE BEST)

There are about ten more each unique as Vonnegut.

Boyle is an excellent story teller, and "Water Music" is a terrific read. The narrative flows along at quite a clip as the plot ricochets between characters. Boyle's sense of humor is strong, and I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. While a jacket review compares the work of Boyle to Pynchon, I find little grounds for this. The intellectual attributes of the book fail to approach that of any Pynchon. But why make such a comparison?

Water music is a splendid story quite wonderfully told- an excellent beach book.

T.C. Boyle tells this story with attention and ease. The book draws the reader as deep into the novel as Mungo Park and Ned Rise, its protagonists, are drawn into the heart of Africa. The tale is flush with compelling characters, a riveting story line and a unique marriage of marvelous fiction and fascinating history.

Water Music is at once simple in its illucidation of two men's quests for explicit and vague goals, and complex in its rich weave and stitch of subplots, motivations and perverse parallelism. Neglecting the deference and influence of the writer, Boyle is a post-modern Twain or Swift, combining polemicism and ribauld wit with a gentle love of parable and unmistakable passion for language. The plot is as plausible and exciting as any set in West Africa and London circa 1800 and has a cadence and credibility that teaches as much as it hypnotizes the reader.

Water Music is a relentless human adventure over unexplored terrain and into the essential question of individual purpose, meaning and place. The book is a vessel, its course and its wake, all in one.

T.C. Boyle's novel is a gift as he continues his validation of modern fiction writing. We should all glimpse the talent evident in this skillful-spun yarn.

...

Revolving around the expeditions of Mungo Park, T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel Water Music is not easy to categorize; it is a travel account, picaresque and novel of manners rolled into one.

In 1795 the Scotsman Mungo Park (1771-1806) went to Africa to explore the Niger, a river no European had ever seen. Upon arriving in present-day Gambia, he went 200 miles up the Gambia River to the trading station at Pisania and then traveled east into unexplored territory. In 1796 he reached the Niger River at the town of Segu and traveled 80 miles downstream before his supplies were exhausted and he had to turn back. He returned to Africa in 1805, intending to explore the Niger from Segu to its mouth. His expedition was attacked at Bussa, and Park was drowned. Dedicating the book to the (fictive) Raconteurs' Club, master storyteller T.C. Boyle has concocted an ingenious narrative. At first he spins numerous strands, weaving them into an intricate exotic literary tapestry, as the tale progresses. In fact, the 104 chapters can be read as short stories in their own right. Their titles are sometimes alluding to literary masterpieces by such figures as Ivan Turgeniev, Joseph Conrad and Langston Hughes.

Boyle's story starts in the year 1795. Mungo Park is held hostage by Ali Ibn Fatoudi, the Emir of Ludamar, one of the inland Muslim principalities in what is now the Sahel. A protégé Joseph Banks, erstwhile companion of Captain Cook on his circumnavigation of the globe and now President of the Royal Society and Director of the African Association for Promoting Exploration, Park, a former surgeon on an East India merchantman, has been selected to lead the first expedition in search of the river Niger.

Mungo's guide and interpreter is the intriguing Johnson a.k.a. Katunga Oyo. The early biography of this Madingo is reminiscent of the adventures of a character from Maryse Conde. Kidnapped and sold into slavery Katunga Oyo is shipped to a plantation in England's new world colony of South Carolina. After a visit to his overseas possessions the landowner takes him to London. Here Johnson, as he is now called, learns to read and write, and develops a passion for literature, becoming a "true-blue African homme des lettres". After killing a man in a duel, Johnson ends up back in Africa. Here he "melted into the black bank of the jungle". Johnson's idiom is full of - often humorous - anachronisms. He is calling the local cuisine "soul food" and his old plantation songs "the blues". He is capable of self-mockery: "Don't look at me, brother. I'm an animist." Sometimes he sounds like a 18th century Muddy Waters. Oscillating between his African heritage and newly acquired European culture, he manages to graft the latter upon his African roots. Johnson becomes a shaman of sorts: At the behest of his former master, who happens to be a member of Sir Joseph's Association, Johnson agrees to join Mungo Park's 1795 expedition. His price: the complete works of William Shakespeare.

Ned Rise, a pauper from the London underworld, son of an alcoholic hag, 'not Twist, not Copperfield, not Fagin himself had a childhood to compare to Ned Rise's'. Through a twist of fate, this impresario of live sex shows avant la lettre, corpse digger and convicted murderer ends up at Fort Goree, just off the Coast of Senegal. Here, at this 'gateway to the Niger and bastion of rot' he is drafted into the Royal African Corps and selected to accompany Park on his fateful second expedition into the African interior. Because of his sublime survival instinct he is very able to tune in with his environment Consequently, Ned Rise appears to be better suited to establish a rapport with the natives than Africa-veteran Park.

Water Music is more than a travel account. Although it is clear that Boyle has researched his subject meticulously, he is not interested in a mere historically correct chronicle of events as has explained in his introduction.

But Boyle does address the issue of the objective of travel-writing seriously. In this respect, it is interesting to see how Mungo Park's own view on his mission evolves in the course of his first journey; the cool observer of the flora and fauna in Sumatra is giving way to the romantic. Held at the court of Ibn Fatoudi Park resolves to make his findings known to the world.ý

After an audience with Mansong, ruler of Bambarra, there is a amazing twist. Reading a page from Park's notebook, Johnson notices that the explorer's recording of the meeting is not only inaccurate, but embellishing it beyond recognition. Johnson reproaches Park for this.

It seems as if the tables have turned; the African - 'the object of study' - demanding accuracy, wanting it 'guts and all'. But who is speaking here, and what is his motivation? Is it the intellectual Johnson defending the great cause of science? Or is it the up-rooted Mandingo Katunga Oyo, who wants Africa depicted in all its bizarre horror, motivated by self-hate? Why, on the other hand, does the scholar-explorer Mungo Park want to embellish and cover up? Does he intend to create an image of the 'noble savage'? (After all, this is the age of Jean-Jeacques Rousseau). It leaves the reader with questions: how are travel accounts to be read and interpreted? Can a travel-writer's intentions be discerned? And can his account be trusted?

The author addresses here an important issue because it goes to the core of travel-writing. Is it possible at all to represent the reality of other cultures? It also raises questions concerning the intertwining of fact and fiction; the imaging of cultures. Water Music is multi-layered; although not an explicit critique of imperialism and although the author does not allow himself to be restrained by ideological shackles, there are implied, ironic observations.

Neither does Boyle ignore the culture clash that is occurring within Africa itself between the Muslims, often North-Africans of Arab descent, and the indigenous population of western and equatorial Africa, which is largely animist. The latter are but despicable infidels to the 'Moors', who, usually having the political upper hand, prosecute them relentlessly, retaining or selling them as slaves. It is, incidentally, this conflict which forms a central theme in Condé's earlier mentioned novel Segou. It would be interesting to discover whether Condé has read, and was influenced by, Water Music.

But Boyle's main preoccupation is with Mungo Park, the man. In an interview he has explained that, when ýýdoing research for his thesis on 19th century English literature, he came upon Mungo Park in a book by Pre-Rafaelite poet John Ruskin (1819-1900). Further investigation learned that Ruskin's terrific hero appeared to be rather common. What fascinated Boyle was how this seemingly ordinary man came to chase a dream. To abandoned his family and embark on a crazy adventure only to die miserably in the jungle. During the second expedition, He lets Ned Rise also muse upon Mungo Park's insane, relentless push into the interior.

Like all good travel-writing Water Music is about two journeys: into the interior of Africa and into the interior of the self, the true heart of darkness.

... This could be one of the best collections of short stories by an author I have ever read in my entire life. The title story is utterly brilliant and one of the most amusing. My favorite, HEART OF A CHAMPION, is the one I thought brought about the most internal laughter, the story of a boy and his collie. Other favorites, most of them more thought-provoking than ha-ha-worthy include THE SECOND SWIMMING, A WOMAN'S RESTAURANT, THE EXTINCTION TALES, and DROWNING. A strange thing I noticed: the stories seem to progress from funny to gloomy according to their appearance. I had originally planned to exchange this book with a friend once I was done, but when I had finished it I knew that I would want to read this again. Of all the emotions these stories force you to accept, disappointment isn't one of them.

I think Descent of Man and Green Hell are two of the funniest short stories I have ever read. Either of these two are worth the price of the book.

You may want to read only a few stories at a time as they tend to get a little dark and depressing, but the two titles mentioned above are gems.

I hate a story I can predict. I have never read anything less predictable. I loved this book. I only wish I could forget it and enjoy reading it again at a later date, but I know it's stories are unforgettable.

T.C. Boyle is one of the most technically gifted writers in America, as the present volume bears witness to. His descriptions, characterizations, and flights of lyricism are almost without peer.

But Drop City is a quickly tedious and predictable book that's been written many times--by Denis Johnson (*Already Dead*), for instance. Boyle seems self-consciously smug in his own brazen mediocrity at times, going for adolescent gross-outs and tired narrative scenerios.

Drop City is, most of all, a book about the waste and decay and lassitude of a certain segment of the author's generation. If that "does it" for you, read my 2 stars as 5. But the arrested emotional development of the novel's characters, so clearly described, seems to be the end in itself here--more than any other American author I've read, Boyle seems to take a perverse glee in demonstrating his virtuosity and then not going any further. I used to think he just wasn't writing up to his potential. But maybe he is.

the reviewers who are complaining need to realize that T. C. Boyle writes FICTION. As with all his books, he begins with two separate stories that somehow converge. and living in alaska does involve gruesome animal death - ask the folks who live where no roads go and the sun doesn't shine for days. I loved his portrayal of alaska and found it to be one of the most real I've read. His characters aren't people you entirely love, hmmmm just like the real world. I did identify with some of the women. They are idealists and idealists make a lot of mistakes. I enjoyed the scenery and the dialogue. I love Boyle and enjoyed the book immensely. It wasn't a hippie memoir - wasn't all about drugs and sex- it's about people and relationships and how life itself affects those relationships.

I'm an Alaskan, born and raised... I grew up much like I imagine Sess and Pamela's kids would, and I have to say that TC Boyle is the only author from Outside who's ever written about Alaska and gotten it RIGHT. I thought this was a stupendously entertaining read... at 27, I'm way too young to have been a hippie, so I can't speak to the accuracy of Boyle's portrayal of the late 60s counterculture. However, I can say from a great deal of personal experience that his portrayal of Interior Alaska, its landscapes, its white people, its Indian people, and their lifestyles is absolutely spot-on. He even mentioned the Chena Pumphouse restaurant by name, which is one of my favorite places to drink beer and shoot pool.

Don't listen to the bad reviews... If you want to read about the REAL Alaska, Drop City is right up there with Shadows on the Koyukuk, The Big Garage on Clear-Shot, and Alaska's Wolf Man.

t c boyle is a great writer and a great storyteller. However, this is only a good, and not a great book. For the first 3/4 of the story, the characters, message, prose, and story are as addictive as cigarettes. However, after such a great build-up, the resolution(s) left me with a hollow, I-got-ripped-off feeling. Read this book, but read the collections of short stories first.

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!

I first came across this book in Germany of all places, while on an extended visit with family. I was amazed to read about my chosen area of residence while visiting my place of birth! I love living in the Hudson Valley with all its history - and T.C. Boyle's book made it come alive in a very enjoyable way. His characters are very well defined and the story is easy to follow (especially if you are familiar with the area!). Now all I have to do is re-read it in English... !

For the first 354 pages, this is an absorbing novel of two families living in Topanga Canyon in California. The characters are well-drawn and interesting, except for Jordan, the son of Delaney and Kyra Menaker-Mossbacher, who is completely cardboard, and Socorro, daughter of Candido and America, who is only a few weeks old by the end of the book. One can hardly expect much character delineation of an infant, but Jordan is old enough to be a real person.

Kyra is a champion real estate salesperson, very driven, who loves her work perhaps more than her family. Delaney is a nature writer who wants to be laid back, but doesn't quite make it. He would have voted for Ralph Nader, but hesitated to admit to his neighbors that he hadn't voted for George W. Bush.

Candido, in his thirties, and his beloved seventeen-year-old wife America are illegal immigrants from Mexico.

The novel nicely contrasts the affluent lifestyle of Delaney and Kyra with the abject poverty of Candido and America, who seek honest work, and work hard when they can get any work, but are repeatedly cheated and robbed of what very little they have.

After 354 pages that would have rated at least 4 1/2 stars, Boyle apparently ran out of steam, and halfway thru page 355 he just stopped writing.

This book concerns the opposition between two cultures and two couples that live in close proximity in Southern California. This is only a physical nearness, however, because the two couples, like the two cultures, counldn't be farther apart.

The point of view shifts between Delaney and Kyra, two well-to-do liberal yuppies, and Candido and America, two illegal immigrants fighting to work and make a life for themselves in a nearby makeshift campsite. Their lives intersect at different points in the story, and though some may find it contrived, it works in driving the conflict between the characters.

As a reader, I did feel the conflict ... at times I rooted for Candido and America, and other times I realized that I'd probably feel much like the suburbanites who hate and fear them. I guess that's the point. I did come away from the book with the distinct impression that California may have the weather advantage most of the time, but the drawbacks presented here make me glad to be 3000 miles away.

Overall this is a good reading experience: there are characters to care about, ideas to think about, and a good story to follow. It is well worth your time.

Boyle's The Tortillia Curtain differs from other books of his that I have read in that it tackles a serious set of social issues head on. Among the other reviews posted here for this book I see that some have claimed that the book is 'unrealistic' and makes use of every stereotype imaginable. Well, while one wouldn't want to pretend that all Southern Californians of means are shallow conspicuous consumers, nothing in the portrait Boyle creates here rings untrue. There must be thousands of people who fit this image. That being the case, it is important to make the point that he doesn't present either the Yuppie Californian family or the Mexican immagrant family as a symbol. They are real people. They don't stand for anything else. And while the extreme dichotomy posed between the wealth and well being of the one and the poverty and marginal health of the other do serve the purpose of highlighting the issue of the extreme inequities in the distribution of goods and services in this country, Boyle does not suggest a solution. Rather, he is interested in showing us what happens when these extremes come into contact in unexpected circumstances. What he has given us is a story of people in different circumstances responding as they likely would - as their training and experience have prepared them to. If we want to make an allegory of it, I don't think that is what he intended. I think that all he is saying is that extremes of expectation, in conflict, will generate extremes of behavior.

I enjoyed the book very much. Apart from Boyle's considerable skill with words, his characters were vivid and the plot - though heavy on coincidence (hey, it worked for Dickens) - is interesting and keeps the reader focused till the end.

3 and a half stars...

What is most interesting about Boyle's book, like "The Road to Wellville" is that it is based on true people in America's past. This particular foray into the past is about the mentally unbalanced son of the McCormick reaper fortune, whose illness pivots around his inability to get along in society with those of the opposite gender. Between his overbearing mother and his equally unbalanced and revealing older sister, Stanley's ideas of women are odd, to say the least.

While I read the book, I felt an urge to look up Stanley McCormick in the history books and find out how much is true about him. He is, however a rather flat character. Yet, Stanley's longtime nurse, Eddie O'Kane, who follows his wealthy employer to California, the land of promise, of orange groves, of unlimited wealth (supposedly), is a much more interesting character. We are allowed to see inside Eddie's thoughts and are privy to his equally distorted views of women's place in the world.

Boyle layers his novel in three overlapping and related narratives. First, there is the most "current" storyline, which begins with Stanley's departure from the east coast to the secluded family mansion ("Riven Rock") of Santa Barbara, California. This story unfolds before us, telling of the various doctors employed by Katherine, Stanley's still-young wife, who so badly wants to see her new husband well again, although to say "again" suggests that she has ever truly witnessed him in a sustained state of mental wellness.

Then, within this main storyline, is the background of the early years of Stanley and the unconventional courtship between himself and Katherine.

Finally, throughout the novel, including the first scene, we see events through O'Kane's eyes. What is interesting about his perspective is that he is a drunk, a bigamist, a womanizer, and a deadbeat dad, yet one can't help but having mized emotions for him. In fact, all of the novel's characters are neither heroes nor villains, as we are allowed to see them all their glorious imperfection and humanity. It is O'Kane's story, though, that, for me was most rewarding, for it paralleled the misogyny and confusion in Stanley's life, seemingly saying that his treatment of women was by no means an isolated incident.

This story is not at all a quick read. This story has to be savoured, because it accomodates so much descriptive detail - both about characters and physical places or objects. But everything is carried out in a very quiet way. I mean, that the reader gets to know and absorb the beings along the book. Beings that ihabit various environments throghout their time, this also being layered in an absolutely natural way. The reader never gets the feeling, that Boyle wants to go a determined path. It just happens - and suddenly you notice you have been transported in some direction. And you accept it and you are glad. The wohle book is the evidence of this dexterity. It starts, where it should start and ends how it should end - full stop No redundancy in anything at all, related to the developement of the story. Boyles manner and style suits the contents perfecly well.
For me this capability is the synonim to rich writing.

About the story:
Reading other reviews or the publishers note is enough to be acquainted to the main idea. So I will skip the resumee and leap to make reference to the relationship between Stanley McCormick and his head nurse Eddie O`Neil.
For me the bondage between the two is the most fascinating aspect of the entire book. Stanley is cathatonic. And Eddie? If he is not, he certainly leads a similar life. Not in the pathological way, but in its contents. And perhaps to understand Mr. McCormick the only possibility you have is becoming as close to cathatonic as you can get and as Eddie does and did profoundly in the end.

Boyle has written an almost mythic exploration of the sexual tensions between men and women. There is exquisite irony in the commonality between the two principle male characters: the wealthy and brilliant schizophrenic Stanley McCormick who is deemed to be so dangerous to women that he must be kept away from them forever, and his nurse Eddie O'Kane the supposedly normal male who beats his wife, beds every woman he can, deserts his son, drinks too much, and gets into bar fights. Who is the madman, the book begs us to ask, and who is normal? If both men suffer, and their wives and families also suffer, what is the cure? McCormick's loyal wife Katherine tries to answer this question by engaging in two lifelong pursuits that seem, at first glance, to be unrelated and even contradictory. One is her selfless dedication to her husband's well-being and hope for his cure, and the second is her role as an activist in the women's suffrage movement where she strives for sexual equality and lives, if only temporarily and by choice, in a world without men. But every attempted cure -- from Katherine's response as a social activist to the wackiness of early 20th Century psychiatry, to O'Kane's wives' and girlfriends' manipulations -- fails. Almost a hundred years later, we still don't have a good answer to the question of how men and women are supposed to live together. In the end, Riven Rock is a tragedy and the questions it raises remain unanswered.