Riven Rock, T.C. Boyle
Riven Rock, T.C. Boyle
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

Riven Rock

Author: T.C. Boyle

Narrator: Michael Kirby

Unabridged: 20 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/28/2024

Synopsis

T. C. Boyle's seventh novel transforms two characters straight out of history into rich mythic figures whose tortured love story is as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. It is the dawn of the twentieth century when the beautiful, budding feminist Katherine Dexter falls in love with Stanley McCormick, son of a millionaire inventor. The two wed, but before the marriage is consummated, Stanley experiences a nervous breakdown and is diagnosed as a schizophrenic sex maniac. Locked up for the rest of his life at Riven Rock, the family's California mansion, Stanley is treated by a series of confident doctors determined to cure him. But his true salvation lies with Katherine who, throughout her career as a scientist and suffragette, continues a patient vigil from beyond the walls of Riven Rock, never losing hope that one day Stanley will be healed.

Blending social history with some of the most deliciously dark humor ever written, Boyle employs his hallmark virtuoso prose to tell the story of America's age of innocence—and of a love affair that is as extraordinary as it is unforgettable.

About T.C. Boyle

T.C. Boyle is an American novelist and short-story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published eighteen novels and twelve collections of short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1988 for his third novel, World’s End, and the Prix Médicis étranger (France) in 1995 for The Tortilla Curtain. His novel Drop City was a finalist for the 2003 National Book Award. Most recently, he has been the recipient of the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the Henry David Thoreau Prize, and the Jonathan Swift Prize for satire. He is a Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at the University of Southern California and lives in Santa Barbara.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Carl on May 15, 2012

When you’re in a tight spot, it’s not unreasonable to turn to the familiar folks of the past for comfort, so I turned to T.C. Boyle when I needed an airplane book quick. Oh, well, I suppose he did his best, but I wonder why he turned his considerable talents to this lugubrious subject. Riven Rock is......more

Goodreads review by Ann on June 10, 2021

As others have said - this is not my favorite TC Boyle; however, it paints a very clear picture of psychiatric treatment about 100 years ago. This novel made me so extremely grateful for psychotherapy of today! It covers the mental illness of a very wealthy American man and the reactions of his wife......more

Goodreads review by Katherine on May 12, 2009

At first, great. Very engaging. The characters grow on you, then begin to suffocate you. I was so sick of the main character's alcoholism, the protagonist's mental illness, and his wife's reluctance to get free from her sick husband. This author is one of my favorites, but this may be my least favori......more

Goodreads review by Frank on September 03, 2016

I was very mixed on this one. As usual, Boyle's writing was wonderful, descriptive, and puts you in every scene in the story. However, to me the plot seemed lacking. There didn't seem to be any momentum to the story. The same things seemed to happen over and over without change. I'll admit there wer......more

Goodreads review by Olga on July 08, 2012

Surprisingly I am sort of bugged down here. I love T.C.Boyle. I totally swallowed "Talk talk" (oh, well, it is a thriller :), and really liked "Women" and many stories. "Tortilla Curtain" was also quite good. "When the killing is done" was tough but I muddled through because the issues were very imp......more

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