Group Read, September 2023: World’s End

Our group read for September is World’s End by T.C. Boyle. Please join in the read and put any comments on this thread.

This is a really good book in many ways but it's agonizing in others. The powerful really, truly oppress the weak. And there's quite a lot of physical violence and suffering. I read Boyle's Road to Wellville years ago and remember liking it a lot. He really does have a way with history, and populating it with extremely vivid characters. But this book is a toughie. As I said on another thread, I made the huge mistake of reading it simultaneously with The Mill on the Floss and there is just too much meanness somehow.

This was my review from back in 2015:

The lives of several families follow a similar pattern from 17th to 20th centuries. I enjoyed this book - tense in parts, and never a dull moment. Like Drop City Boyle captures the location (the Hudson Valley and Alaska (again)) beautifully. While none of the main characters are that likeable, and the premise of fate determining actions through the generations was at times a little contrived, this was a good read. 4/5

Almost finished with this (I started early). It really is excellent, and some day I should reread it when I am not reading George Eliot simultaneously, and it's not the beginning of the semester. I definitely recommend it to anybody who is hesitating on starting. Give it the time it deserves. Never a dull moment, indeed, but very complicated and it's important to keep track of details.