The Relive Box and Other Stories - Hardcover

Boyle, T. C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1408890135 ISBN 13: 9781408890134

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

A dynamic new collection from one of our most original storytellers: satirical, surreal and very much of the moment.

In these stories, T. C. Boyle focuses hisunerring eye on humanity’s relationship with nature, and the unintended consequences of our efforts to control it. The prize-winning ‘Are We Not Men?’ reflects on the impact of new gene-editing technologies while ‘The Relive Box’ parodies our obsession with electronic games.

In ‘She’s the Bomb’, a young woman waits on her graduation day, heart in mouth, for an explosive event. A burrito-seller has a killer business idea in ‘The Five-Pound Burrito’, but learns that success comes at a price. An Italian couple moves south for a fresh start in ‘The Argentine Ant’, but finds that paradise holds a nasty sting. And in the chilling ‘The Designee’, a lonely widower can’t believe his luck when he receives a mysterious letter from England.

In electric prose T. C. Boyle explores myriad facets of society: greed and excess, parenthood and responsibility, the digital world and the way we understand our mortality. Roaming unrestrainedly through
the present and near future, he inhabits his characters’ minds with a ventriloquist’s flair, skewering human motivations and revealing us to ourselves with empathy and wry humour.

About this title

About the Author

T. C. Boyle is the author of more than a dozen novels, including Drop City, which was a finalist for the National Book Award, and World's End, winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award. He has also written numerous short-story collections. He lives near Santa Barbara, California.

Review

“Fans and new readers alike will appreciate Boyle’s droll humor, eye for detail, and seemingly inexhaustible imagination.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

“Boyle makes the incredible credible through detail, and his narrative voices convincing through rhythm and attitude. He can be funny, touching, or both.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Boyle’s substantial collection is funny, disarming, and crushing, haunting and beautiful.” (Booklist (starred review))

“...A timely collection that explores the decline of nature and the takeover of technology. . . . Boyle is a master mood-mixer, and this funny-scary-sad collection is filled with stories to be savored.” (BookPage)

Edition details

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1408890135
• ISBN 13: 9781408890134
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272