It's 2025. Tyrone O'Shaughnessy Tierwater is eking out a bleak living in southern California, managing a pop star's private menagerie, holding some of the last surviving animals in the world. Global warming is a reality. Back in the twentieth century, Ty had been an ecoterrorist for Earth Forever! and his principles had seriously endangered the lives of both his daughter, Sierra, and his wife, Andrea. Now, when the past seems far behind him and he is just trying to survive in a world cursed by storm and drought, Andrea returns to his life...

mailing order for bookring:
tagesmann (UK)
Angelfirestar (US)
LyekkaMarengo (US)
Rrrcaron (US)
goyetisa (Canada)
kizmiaz (Portugual)
Nell-Lu (UK)
abrokenstarr (UK)
platypussj (UK)
and back to me!

then to send to jubby in Australia <---here! Hooray!

On its way to tagesmann! Hope you enjoy it!

Received today. I have a couple of other book to get through first but will try to get to it soon.

Edited because I copied the wrong text from another posting.

Great book which was very funny and very moving. I particularly liked the ending. I would say more but I can't remember my feelings or what I wrote...

Will read ASAP. Thanks!

Good book. Took a little longer to read than I expected but all in all a good book. It had a lot of scientific names I remembered some from zoology.

RELEASE NOTES:

sent to LyekkaMarengo yesterday.

sorry for the delay. Funding is down.

Received safe and sound in Central, PA, USA. One ring ahead of it.

Very topical subject given the increased concern of human activities affecting the global weather. Set in the not-so-distant future when everything the scientists and environmentalist have warned might happen, has in fact, happened. The main characters are strong and likeable and unfortunately the premise is all to possible.

Sending on to Rrrcaron in Lancaster, NH.

I received this in the mail yesterday. I have a few to read beforehand, but it shouldn't take long. Ruth

I enjoyed this read. It really emphasized the results that global warming plays on the environment, a topic I wish more would pay attention to. The genetically altered animals,was kind of far fetched, but who knows what will happen in the future. Sorry it took me so long with this book. I'm working two jobs now, so my reading time isn't quite what it used to be. PMing the next in line and will get this book traveling!
Ruth

I've received the book today, thanks !

My apologies for keeping the book for so long, I will see if anybody was next in line and ship it this week.

it has been quick ! I have mailed the book this morning to next person in line, kizmiaz.

Just got it, thanks.
I still have a couple on the go but shouldn't take long.

To me T.C. Boyle is one of the most interesting, imaginative and serious American contemporary authors and this book is just one more proof of it, if any more proof was needed.
”To be a friend of the Earth you have to be an enemy of the people” this brilliant sentence pretty much sums up the various problems this story deals with.
While I was reading it a cyclone killed over 60.000 people in Myanmar and left thousands homeless, jobless and parentless, then China had a series of earthquakes and aftershocks that killed over 40.000 and left 5 million hungry and homeless, these tragic events drove the point of Ty’s struggle home with a vengeance.
Ty is quite a character, a hero whichever way you look at it (like the best Boyle can come up with), all the bitterness and frustration at the human foolishness and the destruction of habitats he witnesses combined with his subservience towards Andrea (who has her own agenda) and his love for Sierra make him the most complex character in the novel, very lifelike, so much so it’s impressive.
The plot unravels slowly and naturally, with the right gaps and holes that make it all the more believable and true.
Ty’s actions as an eco-activist may not be the most reasonable but reason fails when it comes to deny corporative greed its share and sometimes being unreasonable is the best argument.
This book has it all a brilliant plot, a great cast of characters and a well written story.
There’s a lot of food for thought here, all the implications of global warming and the deforestation of the planet combined with money driven politicians who “sell” out natural parks and even the Amazonian jungle to the highest bidder are scary and are already happening. And still the most developed country in the world is also one of the biggest polluters (the Kyoto agreement might as well have been written on thin air) and encourages everyone to get an SUV, because we all know those suburban roads can be tricky.
There’s a hint of hope here, not for Ty or any of the characters (it’s too late for them) but for us, it is still not too late, but our time is getting short fast.
Global warming anyone?

I'm sending it to Nell-Lu today (27.05.2008)

This arrived today - thanks kizmiaz for sending it on and shnedwards for starting the ring. I'm looking forward to it! I'll start as soon as I've finished my current book and have it on its way again next week.

This was interesting. The eco-backdrop gave an unusual context for a story of middle-aged male anger. Ty's rage seemed to me to be against his high-achieving, famous wife rather than against the supposed targets of polluters and corporations. The extremes of the near-future world highlight the problems caused by traditional gender roles as well as environmental shortsightedness in our world.

abrokenstarr has asked to be skipped so I will send this out to platypussj later today.

Thank you Nell-Lu, arrived yesterday and I'm very intrigued. Have a couple ahead of this one however hope to read very soon.

Somewhere on the cover of this book - "a comedy" is used to describe it. I did find that there were comedic and farcical elements at times but I found the story in general to be moving and quite dark, tragic in fact. His descriptions of the near future I found quite frightening and often found it to be uncomfortable reading, a testament to Boyle's talents as a writer.

Thank you Nell-Lu for posting, and thank you shnedwards for another excellent book ring. On its way home to you soon... :)

And it's come home! Hooray! Thanks everyone for reading and passing on.

This is now going on my urgent TBR pile for me to read before sending it to Australia.

It took me ages to read this, I'm not sure why. It's not the fault of the book: great writing style, convincing characters, big ideas. Maybe it's just the time of year. I had the same trouble last January with a kids' book!

Will send to jubby in the next few days.

On its way to jubby.
Hope you enjoy it!

Received in the post today. Yay!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

OMG! Where do I start with this one?

I had been sitting on this book far too long, so entered it in to the Australian bookcrosser's 'Oz virtual book box' - the idea being that I would *have* to read the book before posting it on.

And that is exactly what happened. Dolphin-au selected the book, so I read it.

Like Shnedwards, I did find this book difficult to actually get started with, and nearly gave it away. But, I also had a bit going on at work and home also. And then, the school holidays rolled around (and not a minute too soon!), and I made myself sit down and read this - and then, I couldn't put it down.

Ty was the fallible hero of this book, a man with his faults and needs, who tries to save a bit of the world he has known. Only, his actions are never thought out or reasoned, and often cause trouble and little else.

Sierra, Ty's daughter I thought was a character I would have liked to know more about, misguided and truly devoted to the environmental movement. Now I really should go on and comment on the plot features and style, but it is time for baby's bath... and I've been on the computer long enough.

So, I'll finish up by saying that this wouldn't be my favourite T.C. Boyle book (that would be Drop City), but it was definitely much better then 'The Inner Circle' and 'The Road to Wellville'.

Thank you very much for sharing this great book with me Shnedwards.
I have already posted this book on to Dolphin-au.

Received safely, thanks jubby! I haven't read anything by Boyle yet, I've got one other book of his on the pile of books to read, but this certainly looks interesting. It might be a while before I'll get to it, but I will eventually.

In the mean time I managed to read one of Boyle's other books as well (The road to Wellville) which i enjoyed, but not as much as this one. I must confess the environment is one of my passions, so this book's theme was close to the heart.
I loved Ty as a main character. A true eco-warrior who dares to do take action where others only contemplate. The actions might be futile, but they still require a certain mind-set.
The painted picture of our near future might not be so far off target as we might hope.
I can truly recommend this book.

Passed on to a friend. Enjoy!