Synopsis
The son of a wealthy inventor is incarcerated in a Santa Barbara mental hospital because of a psychosexual disorder that makes him attack women on sight. His male nurse is a womanizing alcoholic, and his long-suffering and devoted wife never loses hope for his recovery. This novel is based on the true story of Stanley McCormick (heir to the McCormick Reaper fortune) and his suffragist wife, Katherine. A New York Times Notable Book for 1998.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1999-01-01 |
| Size | | Length: | 480 pages | | Height: | 8.0 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 11.2 oz |
Publisher's Note
In his most fully realized and compassionate novel to date, T.C. Boyle transforms two characters straight out of history into rich, mythic creations whose tortured love and epic story is intimate enough to break readers' hearts.
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.
Industry Reviews
"The two things Boyle has been unable to do with any sustained success is create a sympathetic, three-dimensional character and tell a story that engages feelings other than laughter, horror, superiority or contempt....With 'Riven Rock,' he has apparently decided to try, as he once put it, 'to do emotions,' rather than embrace his more antic comic talents....The results are...mixed: a long, meandering and fluently written book that has some truly affecting moments but that ultimately reduces two of its three main characters to caricatures. It is an ambitious, laudable effort that falls short of being a fully satisfying novel....By the end of 'Riven Rock,' we feel pity for Stanley and Katherine. It's a far cry, certainly, from the contempt we feel for so many of Boyle's earlier characters, but it's also a poor substitute, in the end, for sympathy, insight or understanding."
New York Times - Michiko Kakutani (01/20/1998)
"[T]he Stanley McCormick of Boyle's fiction, or faction, is a memorable character. The youthful Katherine is also a touching creation....The book is filled with good writing and richly observed scenes; it has humanity and humor in abundance. And yet the promise of intellectual and emotional exploration...is not fulfilled."
New York Times Book Review - D. M. Thomas (02/08/1998)
"This is a splendid book, a noble achievement, a work of art."
Kurth
"In Boyle's assured hands, this odd American tale turns into a bracing examination of misogyny, mental illness, and the shadowy side of love."
Paretsky
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