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The Road to Wellville: A Novel

by T. C. Boyle

The Road to Wellville: A Novel Cover

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Will Lightbody is a man with a stomach ailment whose only sin is loving his wife, Eleanor, too much. Eleanor is a health nut of the first stripe, and when in 1907 she journeys to Dr. John Harvey Kellogg's infamous Battle Creek Spa to live out the vegetarian ethos, poor Will goes too.

So begins T. Coraghessan Boyle's wickedly comic look at turn-of-the-century fanatics in search of the magic pill to prolong their lives — or the profit to be had from manufacturing it. Brimming with a Dickensian cast of characters and laced with wildly wonderful plot twists, The Road to Wellville is "a marvel, enjoyable from beginning to end" (Jane Smiley, New York Times Book Review).

Review:

"[A] perfect fit....[M]ost fittingly, for a book about the body, Boyle is one of those gloriously physical writers who can describe a simple walk on a cold night in a way that makes your blood tingle. Big, smart, exciting, and often wildly funny." Kirkus Reviews

Review:

"[T]his time [Boyle] has hit the bull's-eye....Truth and fiction are invisibly blended in Boyle's splendid novel, in which a loving concern for the innocent at heart touchingly prevails." Publishers Weekly

Review:

"[A] comic tour de force....Boyle...has a genius for envisioning his scenes in such delicious detail and for presenting his characters with such subtle insight that The Road to Wellville is rich and delightful." Playboy

Review:

"In Wellville, Boyle brings his exhilaratingly bombastic style and virtuoso language to an old-fashioned adventure tale." People

Review:

"Boyle's lightest, least fierce novel. But in the end, as a reassurance to those of us who have savored the sharpness, complexity and bitterness of his previous works, the animals still bite, the fecal matter still flies and foolishness is still on ample display." Jane Smiley, The New York Times Book Review

Review:

"In this inventive and highly entertaining story, Boyle's proven talents are again displayed in rare form." Library Journal

Review:

"A funny, thoughtful, immaculately written novel, The Road to Wellville eviscerates the gullible pilgrims and conniving hucksters who rubbed shoulders in turn-of-the-century Battle Creek." Newsweek

Review:

"T. C. Boyle may be the most entertaining writer in America....The Road To Wellville is a superbly plotted entertainment....[M]ay be the most fun book of the season." Boston Globe

About the Author

T. C. Boyle is the New York Times bestselling author of ten novels and has published seven collections of short fiction. He received the PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel World's End and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. His stories appear regularly in the New Yorker, GQ, Esquire, and Playboy.

Visit his Web site at www.tcboyle.com.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780140167184
Author:
Boyle, T. C.
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Author:
Boyle, T. Coraghessan
Location:
New York :
Subject:
General
Subject:
Fiction
Subject:
Humorous Stories
Subject:
Health resorts
Subject:
Historical fiction
Subject:
Michigan
Subject:
Humorous fiction
Subject:
Battle Creek (Mich.) Fiction.
Subject:
Battle Creek
Subject:
Literary
Copyright:
Edition Number:
Reprint ed.
Publication Date:
May 1994
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Illustrations:
Y
Pages:
496
Dimensions:
7.88x5.04x.91 in. .76 lbs.

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