Stories

By T. Coraghessan Boyle

Book Overview

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK - The first volume of collected short fiction from the award-winning author of The Tortilla Curtain, featuring sixty-eight "varied, clever, and delightful" (The Chicago Tribune) short stories, including seven never-before-published tales

"Each story hops] with manic energy . . . at his vaulting, imaginative best Boyle suggests the bastard child of Flannery O'Connor and Monty Python."--The Miami Herald

WINNER OF THE PEN/MALAMUD AWARD - FINALIST FOR THE PEN CENTER/USA WEST LITERARY AWARD

By turns mythic and realistic, farcical and tragic, ironic and moving, T.C. Boyle's stories map a wide geography of human emotions. Whether he is writing about eccentrics, charlatans, or exotic seekers after the truth, or about decent vulnerable people trying to forge some kind of connection in an unfriendly world, the effect is always surprising and uniquely his own. Running throughout is Boyle's razor-sharp sense of humor, and his singular genius for dissecting America's obsession with image and materialism.

Drawn from Descent of Man, Greasy Lake, If the River Was Whiskey, and Without a Hero alongside seven new tales, the sixty-eight stories in this volume are remarkable in their range, richness, and exuberance. T.C. Boyle Stories is a book of small treasures, a definitive gift for Boyle fans and for every reader ready to discover the "ferocious, delicious imagination" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) of a "vibrant sensibility fully engaged with American society" (The New York Times).

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014028091X
• ISBN13: 9780140280913
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Length: 704 Pages
• Weight: 1.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Sometimes cynical and mean, always clever and well-written

I read the last short story in this collection (Filthy with Things) in a collection of short stories, essays, and excerpts that writers considered to be among their better work (called This is My Best -- recommended, by the way). That story caused me to put TC Boyle on my list of authors to read more from, so I was glad to see this giant volume of short stories from him! The book is divided into three parts: Love, Death, and Everything In-Between. I have to say that overall, I liked the stories in the last part best. The stories in Love were often more about betrayal (and lots of physical stuff); in the stories in Death, it often seemed that Boyle would create characters just to torture them. But even with all that meanness, I found most of the stories enjoyable on some level. Boyle is a brilliant writer, turning a phrase just so and showing that he's researched every subject very thoroughly. His wit is very dry and yes, often very mean, which can be fun, especially when his characters are unlovable, which they so often are. But they really just reflect the flaws in all of us, so we can see where the folly of our ways can lead. I like that some of the stories (well, most of them) are so absurd and over-the-top as to be almost believable. Stories include: Lassie being conflicted over saving Timmy and falling for a skinny, shabby, dangerous coyote; a modern guy dating Jane Austen; Jack Kerouac as the "beatest" mama's boy ever; a highly disturbed boy and his bees; a flashback to when starlings were introduced to the US (featuring, I learned after Googling him, the real guy who introduced them, with the facts pretty much in agreement with the websites I found); an ingenious scheme to get around tariffs; a couple's experience with an "organizer," who helps them pare down their possessions; and many more too diverse to be believed. As I said, the stories are all very smartly written, often exploring historical characters. I enjoyed most all of them very much, despite all the bloodshed and heartbreak, and look forward to reading more from Boyle.

I inhaled this one

T. C. Boyle is a master of short stories. In this 700 page tome, Boyle covers the gamut of subjects in a funny, witty, and satirical way. His writing style offers an amusing, introspective, and memorable view of American culture. This one is as entertaining as any book I have read.

Boyle Does Not Come Up Short

T.C. Boyle is probably one of the greatest contemporary (and most under-read) American authors that we have. I have read many of Boyle's novels, and though while not being a fan of the short story genre, I thought I would give this massive collection of 70 short stories a try. If anything it has made me a greater fan of this talented author. Boyle excels in the shorter format bringing us tales that are highly imaginative. A warning to the Boyle uninitiated, these stories are very eccentric with a lot of dark humor throughout. Just when you think the author could not come up with a more a possibly more bizarre premise, he tops it in a later story.Boyle has a wonderful command of language and readers will be amazed by how he can created a total picture with minimal words. For example, in a story I read recently, he wrote "the house... seemed almost to sink under the weight of its mortgage." Boyle consistently creates this kind of amazing imagery throughout these stories. From full-body condoms to a struggling game safari in the California desert to a women who keeps squirrels as pets - it is almost guaranteed that you have never read anything as original or inventive as these Boyle stories. Do yourself a favor and pick up "T.C. Boyle Stories" -- and take your time and savor (I usually read a handful of stories between novels)!

Hard-Boyled and Enduring

I can't remember when I've enjoyed a collection of short stories any more. TC Boyle is an imaginative bottomless pit of intriguing short fiction ideas. At 691 pages, this collection is a comprehensive look into the mind of one of our most talented prose stylists. Boyle is, in fact, at his luinous best in the shorter work. While his novels become at times ponderous, the reader will not find that to be true in the shorts.There are way too many great stories to mention here, but a few highlights for me were "Heart of a Champion," "The Human Fly," The Ape Lady in Retirement," "Mexico," and "Bloodfall." I've taught "Greasy Lake" for years to survey Lit classes who have typically found Boyle, if nothing else, to be provocative. Boyle's presence over the years in the highbrow New York magazines should solidify his place among American writers of his generation. It's nice to see the mass of this work in this well-organized very readable collection.

T.C. Boyle at his best, many times over!

The first book I read of Boyle's was Tortilla Curtain. I have been HOOKED ever since. I am not usually a fan of short stories, I tend to prefer novels for more at length character development and situations (blah blah blah). T.C. Boyle is amazing - you can get all of that in a ten page story! This is the best collection of short stories that I own and I re-read them many times over. I also bought two copies and gave them as gifts to friends whom have not read any Boyle. (And they were very impressed with the stories) You can't lose with this collection. His stories are full and rich with detail. They are great for bathtub reading, plane trips or when you don't have a lot of time. You can get an entire experience out of just a few pages and not feel cheated. The only other short stories I have enjoyed this much are those by Roald Dahl. So - that must say A LOT for T.C. Boyle!