In [his] exuberant new collection…Boyle uses a sly combination of sci-fi and nostalgia to look back while illuminating the future and all the coming catastrophes, all the ways civilization might be hurtling toward its final act—the droughts, floods, infections and other disastrous results of thousands of years of selfish human idiocy…He writes with the fluidity and grace of a master. His stories rock and move…Boyle's close alternate worlds are reminiscent at times of George Saunders's stories, but unlike the lefty Saunders, whose protagonists head-butt true ethical dilemmas and take on corporations and capitalism in the name of love and truth, Boyle frames individuals themselves as the problem…Boyle's stories feel as if they're coming from the end of the world, from a time when we will finally be unable to live with what we are and what we have and what we have done.
While T.C. Boyle is known as one of our greatest American novelists, he is also an acknowledged master of the short story and is perhaps at his funniest, his most moving, and his most surprising in the short form. In The Relive Box, Boyle's sharp wit and rich imagination combine with a penetrating social consciousness to produce raucous, poignant, and expansive short stories defined by an inimitable voice.
From the collection's title story, featuring a Halcom X1520 Relive Box that allows users to experience anew almost any moment from their past to ""The Five-Pound Burrito,"" the tale of a man aiming to build the biggest burrito in town, the twelve stories in this collection speak to the humor, the pathos, and the struggle that is part of being human while relishing the whimsy of wordplay and the power of a story well told. In stories that span a variety of styles and genres, Boyle addresses the enduring concerns of the human mind and heart while taking on timely social concerns. The Relive Box is an exuberant, linguistically dazzling effort from a ""vibrant sensibility fully engaged with American society."" (The New York Times)
While T.C. Boyle is known as one of our greatest American novelists, he is also an acknowledged master of the short story and is perhaps at his funniest, his most moving, and his most surprising in the short form. In The Relive Box, Boyle's sharp wit and rich imagination combine with a penetrating social consciousness to produce raucous, poignant, and expansive short stories defined by an inimitable voice.
From the collection's title story, featuring a Halcom X1520 Relive Box that allows users to experience anew almost any moment from their past to ""The Five-Pound Burrito,"" the tale of a man aiming to build the biggest burrito in town, the twelve stories in this collection speak to the humor, the pathos, and the struggle that is part of being human while relishing the whimsy of wordplay and the power of a story well told. In stories that span a variety of styles and genres, Boyle addresses the enduring concerns of the human mind and heart while taking on timely social concerns. The Relive Box is an exuberant, linguistically dazzling effort from a ""vibrant sensibility fully engaged with American society."" (The New York Times)
Editorial Reviews
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940170240098 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins |
| Publication date: | 10/03/2017 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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