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A review by skitch41
San Miguel by T.C. Boyle
4.0
Nearly everyone has a dream of unplugging from the world and living off the grid. Some people even do just that. But no one tells you how isolating doing so can feel. At the heart of this book, similar to his previous book, Drop City, is people living off the grid and by the work of their own two hands. Yet, in this book, T.C. Boyle explores the isolation that can come from it. And while Boyle still continues to shine, this is one of his tamest novels.
San Miguel follows the lives of three women, Marantha, Edith, and Elise, who live on the island of San Miguel, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of California. Marantha and Edith are mother and adopted daughter living in the 1880s, both of whom hate living on the island their husband and father, Will, is forcing them to live and work on and each of them rebel against his heavy-handed, tyrannical rule in different ways. Elise is the wife of a World War I vet also forced to live on the island, but who genuinely loves to do so. They find a modicum of national fame during the Depression, but things begin to fall apart with the arrival of World War II. Each of these women struggle with island living in their own way, but to say more would be to give too much of the story away.
It is interesting to follow these three women around, but Boyle is known for finding absurd, real life stories to write about. But there is nothing truly absurd about any of these stories. Without that, Mr. Boyle's narrative skills don't quite take off, particularly during Marantha's story, which is the least interesting of the three. Edith's story is filled with heartbreak and excitement as she tries to escape her situation, but it is far too short. Elise's story is the best of the three, but also one of the most tragic. If you can stick through the first two women, you will be rewarded with a particularly fascinating account of the "Swiss Family Lester." However, as I said earlier, without that little absurd story detail, Mr. Boyle's narrative wit, a highlight of any of his stories, is missing. I would recommend this book to T.C. Boyle fans and historical fiction fans, but this is not one of Boyle's best.
San Miguel follows the lives of three women, Marantha, Edith, and Elise, who live on the island of San Miguel, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of California. Marantha and Edith are mother and adopted daughter living in the 1880s, both of whom hate living on the island their husband and father, Will, is forcing them to live and work on and each of them rebel against his heavy-handed, tyrannical rule in different ways. Elise is the wife of a World War I vet also forced to live on the island, but who genuinely loves to do so. They find a modicum of national fame during the Depression, but things begin to fall apart with the arrival of World War II. Each of these women struggle with island living in their own way, but to say more would be to give too much of the story away.
It is interesting to follow these three women around, but Boyle is known for finding absurd, real life stories to write about. But there is nothing truly absurd about any of these stories. Without that, Mr. Boyle's narrative skills don't quite take off, particularly during Marantha's story, which is the least interesting of the three. Edith's story is filled with heartbreak and excitement as she tries to escape her situation, but it is far too short. Elise's story is the best of the three, but also one of the most tragic. If you can stick through the first two women, you will be rewarded with a particularly fascinating account of the "Swiss Family Lester." However, as I said earlier, without that little absurd story detail, Mr. Boyle's narrative wit, a highlight of any of his stories, is missing. I would recommend this book to T.C. Boyle fans and historical fiction fans, but this is not one of Boyle's best.