T. Coraghessan Boyle
Encyclopedia
Tom Coraghessan Boyle is a U.S. novelist and short story
writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award
in 1988, for his third novel, World's End, which recounts 300 years in upstate New York
.
, received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Potsdam
, and a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa
. He is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California
.
Many of Boyle's novels and short stories explore the baby boom generation, its appetites, joys, and addictions. His themes, such as the often-misguided efforts of the male hero and the slick appeal of the anti-hero, appear alongside brutal satire, humor, and magical realism. His fiction also explores the ruthlessness and the unpredictability of nature and the toll human society unwittingly takes on the environment. His novels include World's End (1987, winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction); The Road to Wellville (1993); and The Tortilla Curtain (1995, winner of France's Prix Médicis étranger).
Boyle has published eight collections of short stories, including Descent of Man (1979), Greasy Lake (1985), If the River was Whiskey (1989), and Without a Hero (1994). His short stories regularly appear in the major American magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly and Playboy, as well as on the radio show, Selected Shorts
.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award
PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction
The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US $15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US $5000. The foundation brings the winner and runners-up to...
in 1988, for his third novel, World's End, which recounts 300 years in upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
.
Life
Boyle grew up in Peekskill, New YorkPeekskill, New York
Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products...
, received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Potsdam
State University of New York at Potsdam
The State University of New York at Potsdam, also known as SUNY Potsdam, or, colloquially, Potsdam, is a public university located in the Village of Potsdam in St. Lawrence County, New York. Founded in 1816, it is among the 50 oldest colleges in the United States...
, and a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...
. He is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
Many of Boyle's novels and short stories explore the baby boom generation, its appetites, joys, and addictions. His themes, such as the often-misguided efforts of the male hero and the slick appeal of the anti-hero, appear alongside brutal satire, humor, and magical realism. His fiction also explores the ruthlessness and the unpredictability of nature and the toll human society unwittingly takes on the environment. His novels include World's End (1987, winner of the Pen/Faulkner Award for Fiction); The Road to Wellville (1993); and The Tortilla Curtain (1995, winner of France's Prix Médicis étranger).
Boyle has published eight collections of short stories, including Descent of Man (1979), Greasy Lake (1985), If the River was Whiskey (1989), and Without a Hero (1994). His short stories regularly appear in the major American magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper's, Esquire, The Atlantic Monthly and Playboy, as well as on the radio show, Selected Shorts
Selected Shorts
Selected Shorts is an event at New York’s Symphony Space on the Upper West Side, in which actors read classic and new short fiction before a live audience. The annual season of the live events at Symphony Space begins in the mid-fall and ends in mid-spring, and a typical episode would include...
.
Novels
- Water MusicWater Music (novel)Water Music is the first novel by T. C. Boyle, first published in 1982. It is a semi-fictional historical adventure novel that is set in the late 18th and early 19th century...
(1982) - Budding ProspectsBudding ProspectsBudding Prospects is a 1984 novel by T. C. Boyle. It details the misadventure of protagonist Felix Nasmyth, who plans to get rich by illegally growing marijuana.-Plot:...
(1984) - World's End (1987)
- East Is EastEast Is East (novel)East is East is a 1990 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle.-Book information:East is East by T. C. Boyle*Hardcover - ISBN 0-670-83220-0 published by Viking Press...
(1990) - The Road to WellvilleThe Road to WellvilleThe Road to Wellville is a 1993 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. Set in Battle Creek, Michigan during the early days of breakfast cereals, the story includes a historical fictionalization of John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of corn flakes....
(1993) - The Tortilla CurtainThe Tortilla CurtainThe Tortilla Curtain is a novel by U.S. author T.C. Boyle about middle-class values, illegal immigration, a fear and hatred of foreigners, poverty, and environmental destruction...
(1995) - Riven RockRiven RockRiven Rock is a 1998 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. It concerns the life of Stanley McCormick, a son of Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper, and Stanley's devoted wife, Katherine McCormick, daughter of Wirt Dexter, a prominent Chicago lawyer.The locale of most of the story is...
(1998) - A Friend of the EarthA Friend of the EarthT. Coraghessan Boyle's novel A Friend of the Earth is a story of environmental destruction. The novel is set in 2025; as a result of global warming and the greenhouse effect, the climate has drastically changed, and, accordingly, biodiversity is a thing of the past.-America in 2025:Due to habitat...
(2000) - Drop CityDrop City (novel)Drop City is a 2003 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. The novel, set in 1970, describes the social evolution of a group of counter-cultural free spirits, not unlike the inhabitants of the real Drop City community in Colorado, from which the novel apparently takes its name...
(2003) - The Inner CircleThe Inner Circle (novel)The Inner Circle is a novel by T. C. Boyle first published in 2004 about the development of sexology in the United States and about Alfred Kinsey's rise to fame during the late 1940s and early 1950s as seen through the eyes of one of his loyal assistants....
(2004) - Talk TalkTalk Talk (novel)Talk Talk is a novel by T. C. Boyle first published in 2006, about a young deaf woman who becomes the victim of a credit card fraud and identity theft...
(2006) - The Women (2009)
- When the Killing's Done (2011)
- San Miguel (TBA?)
Short story collections
- Descent of Man (1979)
- Greasy Lake & Other StoriesGreasy Lake & Other StoriesGreasy Lake is a collection of short stories by T. Coraghessan Boyle.The collection reflects the fears, anxieties and issues of America in the 1980s, especially in regard to the fear of a nuclear holocaust...
(1985) - If the River Was Whiskey (1989)
- Without a Hero (1994)
- T.C. Boyle Stories (1998) – compiles the four earlier volumes of short fiction, as well as seven previously uncollected stories.
- After the Plague (2001)
- Tooth and Claw (2005)
- The Human Fly (2005) (previously published stories collected as young adult literatureYoung adult literatureYoung-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
) - Wild Child & Other Stories (2010)
Chronology in Boyle's works
| Time | Setting | Historical personage in the novel | |
|---|---|---|---|
| World's End (1987) | Late 17th century, 1949 and 1968 | Northern Westchester County Westchester County, New York Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities... near Peekskill, New York Peekskill, New York Peekskill is a city in Westchester County, New York. It is situated on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across from Jones Point.This community was known to be an early American industrial center, primarily for its iron plow and stove products... |
|
| Water Music Water Music (novel) Water Music is the first novel by T. C. Boyle, first published in 1982. It is a semi-fictional historical adventure novel that is set in the late 18th and early 19th century... (1982) |
1795 | London, Scotland Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the... , and Africa (source of the Niger Niger River The Niger River is the principal river of western Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in southeastern Guinea... ) |
Mungo Park Mungo Park (explorer) Mungo Park was a Scottish explorer of the African continent. He was credited as being the first Westerner to encounter the Niger River.-Early life:... |
| The Road to Wellville The Road to Wellville The Road to Wellville is a 1993 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. Set in Battle Creek, Michigan during the early days of breakfast cereals, the story includes a historical fictionalization of John Harvey Kellogg, the inventor of corn flakes.... (1993) |
1907 | Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek Rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area , which encompasses all of Calhoun county... |
John Harvey Kellogg John Harvey Kellogg John Harvey Kellogg was an American medical doctor in Battle Creek, Michigan, who ran a sanitarium using holistic methods, with a particular focus on nutrition, enemas and exercise. Kellogg was an advocate of vegetarianism and is best known for the invention of the corn flakes breakfast cereal... |
| Riven Rock Riven Rock Riven Rock is a 1998 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. It concerns the life of Stanley McCormick, a son of Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper, and Stanley's devoted wife, Katherine McCormick, daughter of Wirt Dexter, a prominent Chicago lawyer.The locale of most of the story is... (1998) |
1905–1925 | Montecito Montecito, California Montecito is an unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California. As a census-designated place, it had a population of 8,965 in 2010. This does not include areas such as Coast Village Road, that, while usually considered part of Montecito, are actually within the city limits of Santa... , Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County, California Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:... |
Stanley McCormick, Katharine McCormick Katharine McCormick Katharine Dexter McCormick was a U.S. biologist, suffragist, philanthropist and, after her husband's death, heir to a substantial part of the McCormick family fortune... |
| The Women (2009) | Early 20th century up to 1930s | Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... |
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture... |
| The Inner Circle The Inner Circle (novel) The Inner Circle is a novel by T. C. Boyle first published in 2004 about the development of sexology in the United States and about Alfred Kinsey's rise to fame during the late 1940s and early 1950s as seen through the eyes of one of his loyal assistants.... (2004) |
1940s–50s | Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census.... |
Alfred Kinsey Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey was an American biologist and professor of entomology and zoology, who in 1947 founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, as well as producing the Kinsey Reports and the Kinsey... |
| Drop City Drop City (novel) Drop City is a 2003 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. The novel, set in 1970, describes the social evolution of a group of counter-cultural free spirits, not unlike the inhabitants of the real Drop City community in Colorado, from which the novel apparently takes its name... (2003) |
1970 | California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait... |
|
| Budding Prospects Budding Prospects Budding Prospects is a 1984 novel by T. C. Boyle. It details the misadventure of protagonist Felix Nasmyth, who plans to get rich by illegally growing marijuana.-Plot:... (1984) |
1980s | California | |
| East Is East East Is East (novel) East is East is a 1990 novel by American author T. Coraghessan Boyle.-Book information:East is East by T. C. Boyle*Hardcover - ISBN 0-670-83220-0 published by Viking Press... (1990) |
1980s | Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... (American South) |
Hu Tu Mei |
| The Tortilla Curtain The Tortilla Curtain The Tortilla Curtain is a novel by U.S. author T.C. Boyle about middle-class values, illegal immigration, a fear and hatred of foreigners, poverty, and environmental destruction... (1995) |
1990s | Southern California Southern California Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego... |
|
| Talk Talk (2006) | 2000s | California and New York state | |
| When the Killing's Done When the Killing's Done (Boyle) When the Killing's Done is a 2011 novel by T. C. Boyle. The book is an environmental and family drama revolving around the Channel Islands of California --specifically Anacapa and Santa Cruz-- and the controversy surrounding efforts by the National Park Service and its partners to eradicate... (2011) |
2000s, 1970s, 1940s | California (Channel Islands Channel Islands of California The Channel Islands of California are a chain of eight islands located in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Southern California along the Santa Barbara Channel in the United States of America... ) |
|
| A Friend of the Earth A Friend of the Earth T. Coraghessan Boyle's novel A Friend of the Earth is a story of environmental destruction. The novel is set in 2025; as a result of global warming and the greenhouse effect, the climate has drastically changed, and, accordingly, biodiversity is a thing of the past.-America in 2025:Due to habitat... (2000) |
late 1980s; 2025–2026 | California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... , Oregon Oregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern... |
|
External links
- Official website
- "Author of Drop City talks with Robert Birnbaum", identity theory, March 19, 2003
- The T. Coraghessan Boyle Research Center (in English, French, German, and Dutch)
- "The OD & Hepatitis RR or Bust", a short story by Boyle, at Fictionaut
- Making art in a random universe. T.C. Boyle on Bookpod
- "Featured Author: T. Coraghessan Boyle", The New York Times
- The Bat Segundo ShowThe Bat Segundo ShowThe Bat Segundo Show is a podcast based in New York run by writer and literary critic Edward Champion.The program features comprehensive interviews with prominent figures in arts and culture, with a special focus on literature. Past guests have included David Mitchell, David Lynch, Amy Sedaris,...
(radio interviews): 2005 (50 minutes), 2006 (30 minutes), 2009 (30 minutes), 2011 (45 minutes),