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Without a Hero: Stories
T.C. Boyle was first feted as a master of the short story for his critically acclaimed Greasy Lake . With these stories applauded by People magazine as "wickedly comical," he displays once again a virtuosity and versatility rare in literary America today. Without a Hero zooms in on American phenomena such as a center for the treatment of acquisitive disorders; a couple in search of the last toads on earth; and a real estate wonder boy on a dude safari near convenient Bakerfield, California. Sharp, guileful, and malevolently funny, Boyle's stories are "more than funny, better than wicked," says The Philadelphia Inquirer . "They make you cringe with their clarity."
238 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
26 people are currently reading
392 people want to read
About the author
T. Coraghessan Boyle
98 books2,997 followersT. Coraghessan Boyle (also known as T.C. Boyle, is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the late 1970s, he has published eighteen novels and twleve collections of short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award in 1988 for his third novel, World's End, which recounts 300 years in upstate New York. He is married with three children. Boyle has been a
Professor of English at the University of Southern California since 1978, when he founded the school's undergraduate creative writing program.
He grew up in the small town on the Hudson Valley that he regularly fictionalizes as Peterskill (as in widely anthologized short story Greasy Lake). Boyle changed his middle name when he was 17 and exclusively used Coraghessan for much of his career, but now also goes by T.C. Boyle.
Professor of English at the University of Southern California since 1978, when he founded the school's undergraduate creative writing program.
He grew up in the small town on the Hudson Valley that he regularly fictionalizes as Peterskill (as in widely anthologized short story Greasy Lake). Boyle changed his middle name when he was 17 and exclusively used Coraghessan for much of his career, but now also goes by T.C. Boyle.
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September 4, 2017
TC Boyle proves that a writing professor can have a full life in print. While running the writing program at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, he published a dozen novels, a slew of stories and won many awards. In fact, he has something of a cult rep. The 15 stories in this volume have a kind of "Twilight Zone"-insanity. Boyle is a subversive satirist whose characters at first seem "normal" (whatever that is) and then morph into monsters. Madness, rudeness always prevail.
"Big Game," inspired by Hemingway's safari stories like the one dealing with the wretched Francis Macomber, is set at a theme park in the California desert where the moneygrubbers shoot the rhino, the water buff and the giraffe for fun -- and a big fee. "Parvenus. The kind of people who wouldn't know class if it bit them." (California is riddled with such parks, ya know). Bernard Puff, who owns the business, remembers "an idiot from MGM who opened up on a herd of zebra and managed to decapitate two ostriches and lame the Abyssian ass." Fortunately, Puff carries a big insurance. Today he's expecting a real estate couple. The wife is a former actress-model-poet-singer, who really wanted to go to Tanzania, not Bakersfield. Her mogul husband, given to speechifying - "words drop from his lips like coins from a slot machine" - had said, naw, naw, "you'll get tsetse flies and black mambas and beriberi and the plague in Zambeziland." What happens to the couple at this theme park becomes a full scale opera w screams. Or as their pubescent daughter would say, "Tacky, tacky, tacky."
In "Acts of God," the 75 year-old Willis, now in his 3d marriage, survives a hurricane and the destruction of his house. Now, where is his wife? "The last wife had taken the house, the car, the dog, the blendor and his collection of Glenn Miller records. Before that, his wife had taken his first house, his children and his self-respect. " His current wife is different, a force on earth. "She took everything that was left. And there wasn't a whole lot of that."
Boyle is a vivid writer with a dangerous imagination. This volume, a gift, is my first Boyle. He is loudly pop and American. To one critic he suggests Evelyn Waugh doing sketches for Saturday Night Live.
"Big Game," inspired by Hemingway's safari stories like the one dealing with the wretched Francis Macomber, is set at a theme park in the California desert where the moneygrubbers shoot the rhino, the water buff and the giraffe for fun -- and a big fee. "Parvenus. The kind of people who wouldn't know class if it bit them." (California is riddled with such parks, ya know). Bernard Puff, who owns the business, remembers "an idiot from MGM who opened up on a herd of zebra and managed to decapitate two ostriches and lame the Abyssian ass." Fortunately, Puff carries a big insurance. Today he's expecting a real estate couple. The wife is a former actress-model-poet-singer, who really wanted to go to Tanzania, not Bakersfield. Her mogul husband, given to speechifying - "words drop from his lips like coins from a slot machine" - had said, naw, naw, "you'll get tsetse flies and black mambas and beriberi and the plague in Zambeziland." What happens to the couple at this theme park becomes a full scale opera w screams. Or as their pubescent daughter would say, "Tacky, tacky, tacky."
In "Acts of God," the 75 year-old Willis, now in his 3d marriage, survives a hurricane and the destruction of his house. Now, where is his wife? "The last wife had taken the house, the car, the dog, the blendor and his collection of Glenn Miller records. Before that, his wife had taken his first house, his children and his self-respect. " His current wife is different, a force on earth. "She took everything that was left. And there wasn't a whole lot of that."
Boyle is a vivid writer with a dangerous imagination. This volume, a gift, is my first Boyle. He is loudly pop and American. To one critic he suggests Evelyn Waugh doing sketches for Saturday Night Live.
June 11, 2024
Още след първите 2-3 истории написах някъде, че разказите са феноменални. Сега спокойно мога да потвърдя, че изказването ми никак не е било прибързано. Абсолютно великолепие е този сборник, всеки един от 15-те разказа остана в мен по някакъв начин, държеше ме в напрежение, караше ме да се движа на ръба между абсурдното, смешното и ужасяващото. Често героите, които ми бяха най-интересни, не ми бяха никак симпатични, въплъщаваха най-отблъскващите човешки черти, но не можех да откъсна очи, не можех и да не опитам да се поставя на тяхно място или да се запитам как стигнахме дотук. Заглавието на сборника препраща към "Поема без герой" на голямата руска поетеса Анна Ахматова.
Бойл повдига важни въпроси като екологичната катастрофа, която е надвиснала над всички нас, жестокостта ни към животните ("...за животните всеки ден е Аушвиц"), ужаса ни от тленността, егоцентризма. Срещаме хора, които толкова патологично се отрупват с вещи, че се появяват специалисти по патологично събирателство и хотели за съзависими в "непридобивна среда"; връща ни към годините на перестройката; разсизъм; един спор за охлюви е причината за мутренска война (ето и обяснение за корицата!); природни бествия; трудни семейни отношения; маниакално преследване на смъртта; насилие и още... Дори Джак Керуак е герой в един от разказите!
В интервю Бойл казва, че иска читателите му да нямат никаква идея какво следва. Е, според мен чудесно се е справил с това :) Много, ужасно много ми хареса тази книга.
Бойл повдига важни въпроси като екологичната катастрофа, която е надвиснала над всички нас, жестокостта ни към животните ("...за животните всеки ден е Аушвиц"), ужаса ни от тленността, егоцентризма. Срещаме хора, които толкова патологично се отрупват с вещи, че се появяват специалисти по патологично събирателство и хотели за съзависими в "непридобивна среда"; връща ни към годините на перестройката; разсизъм; един спор за охлюви е причината за мутренска война (ето и обяснение за корицата!); природни бествия; трудни семейни отношения; маниакално преследване на смъртта; насилие и още... Дори Джак Керуак е герой в един от разказите!
В интервю Бойл казва, че иска читателите му да нямат никаква идея какво следва. Е, според мен чудесно се е справил с това :) Много, ужасно много ми хареса тази книга.
November 22, 2025
It seems that, for those who like wild surprises from an author, T.C. Boyle can be a reader's blessing and also something of a curse. This short story collection (again) shows that - while his vigorous imagination remains intact - what Boyle chooses to explore can be hit or miss, depending either on what your own interests are or how open you are to stretching those interests.
As well, Boyle seems to occasionally invite a certain caveat: he's also capable of writing particular stories that can be confounding in a sort-of colorless way. This is the third collection of his stories that I've read. And, here, he pulled me in about as equally as he kept me at a distance.
Overall, these stories are vividly character-based. You may take to some characters more than others.
The collection opens with 'Big Game' - one of the strongest tales, dealing as it does with a blatantly-faux California facsimile of an African hunting ground which is a magnet for the rich who are also the richly stupid. On the one hand, it's a repulsive story (which seems the point) but, on the other hand, the wallop of a comical ending was a welcome touché.
'Filthy with Things' is an up-the-ante satire about consumer mania. For some reason, its nightmare scenario about a specialist in "aggregation disorders" brought to mind Stephen King's well-known story about smoking: 'Quitters, Inc.', though it's maddening as opposed to deadly.
A Russian blonde bombshell from Emotional Hell is on display in 'Without a Hero'. Somewhat like the villainess in Patrick Hamilton's 'Hangover Square', Irina's existence suggests that her beauty is not responsible for whatever falls prey to it.
Largely action-centric, 'Acts of God' is ultimately an arresting depiction of a hurricane that vies with a virago in terms of which one is more destructive.
Lasting only a few pages, 'Back in the Eocene' is a somewhat melancholic story of a father-and-daughter attending a school meeting about saying no to drugs. There's a mood of the encumbrance of nostalgia.
'Carnal Knowledge' is not at all as erotic as its title. Nevertheless, in it a guy falls instantly madly / blindly in love with a vegan ecoterrorist and, sure enough, soon lives to regret it.
'56-0' is, to date, the only story about football that has kept me in its grip. Its illustration of determination is singularly pathetic but its logic is well-reasoned.
In 'Beat', a young man pursuing a meeting with Jack Kerouac ends up spending a Christmas holiday with the Beat Generation hero and his cohorts Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Refreshing absurdity builds to a delightfully loony conclusion.
The shifting-but-still-potent uneasiness of '60s racism permeates 'The Fog Man'. There's a quiet despair in the portrait of the victim.
'Sitting on Top of the World' highlights the solitude of a lone female Forestry Service employee. Someone tracks her down: is he a shy suitor or is rape his intent? The semi-suspense is as steady as the study of the female mind.
Often enough, Boyle is capable ot sudden descriptive delight, like this from 'Carnal Knowledge':
As well, Boyle seems to occasionally invite a certain caveat: he's also capable of writing particular stories that can be confounding in a sort-of colorless way. This is the third collection of his stories that I've read. And, here, he pulled me in about as equally as he kept me at a distance.
Overall, these stories are vividly character-based. You may take to some characters more than others.
The collection opens with 'Big Game' - one of the strongest tales, dealing as it does with a blatantly-faux California facsimile of an African hunting ground which is a magnet for the rich who are also the richly stupid. On the one hand, it's a repulsive story (which seems the point) but, on the other hand, the wallop of a comical ending was a welcome touché.
'Filthy with Things' is an up-the-ante satire about consumer mania. For some reason, its nightmare scenario about a specialist in "aggregation disorders" brought to mind Stephen King's well-known story about smoking: 'Quitters, Inc.', though it's maddening as opposed to deadly.
A Russian blonde bombshell from Emotional Hell is on display in 'Without a Hero'. Somewhat like the villainess in Patrick Hamilton's 'Hangover Square', Irina's existence suggests that her beauty is not responsible for whatever falls prey to it.
Largely action-centric, 'Acts of God' is ultimately an arresting depiction of a hurricane that vies with a virago in terms of which one is more destructive.
Lasting only a few pages, 'Back in the Eocene' is a somewhat melancholic story of a father-and-daughter attending a school meeting about saying no to drugs. There's a mood of the encumbrance of nostalgia.
'Carnal Knowledge' is not at all as erotic as its title. Nevertheless, in it a guy falls instantly madly / blindly in love with a vegan ecoterrorist and, sure enough, soon lives to regret it.
'56-0' is, to date, the only story about football that has kept me in its grip. Its illustration of determination is singularly pathetic but its logic is well-reasoned.
In 'Beat', a young man pursuing a meeting with Jack Kerouac ends up spending a Christmas holiday with the Beat Generation hero and his cohorts Neal Cassady, William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg. Refreshing absurdity builds to a delightfully loony conclusion.
The shifting-but-still-potent uneasiness of '60s racism permeates 'The Fog Man'. There's a quiet despair in the portrait of the victim.
'Sitting on Top of the World' highlights the solitude of a lone female Forestry Service employee. Someone tracks her down: is he a shy suitor or is rape his intent? The semi-suspense is as steady as the study of the female mind.
Often enough, Boyle is capable ot sudden descriptive delight, like this from 'Carnal Knowledge':
I clung to the edge of the chair as if it were a plunging roller coaster.~ and this from '56-0':
Gedney's voice came back to him in the thin whistling whine of a balloon sputtering round a room: "Who is this?"It's bits like those that I know are coming when Boyle's at work. I may not always get on his wavelength, narrative-wise, but it's hard to deny what makes him a unique storyteller.
May 26, 2024
Супер, супер, супер! Ще напиша няколко думи за сборника със сигурност. Истинска наслада за изкушеното ми от добри разкази сърце. :)
January 1, 2018
This is my favorite period of TC Boyle and the short story is is special talent. Raucous, excessive prose with superb pacing. The drama is that you just cannot predict where the story will go, and Boyle is not afraid to take any path. More later....
May 4, 2022
Another great collection of short stories from T.C. Boyle. I really enjoy Boyle's writing and his short stories are marvelous. Boyle is one of my favorite authors and even though I prefer his novels, his short stories are some of the best that I have encountered. This collection includes some very interesting vignettes of life, some weird, some fantastical, joyful, and depressing. Some of my favorites:
"Big Game" tells what happens to a couple who have made money in real estate and want to experience what it's like to hunt big game in Africa. But instead of going on a safari in Kenya, they go to a mock African ranch outside of Bakersfield where the owner has an assortment of animals including zebra, lion, and an elephant. So what's the worst that could happen?
"Hopes Rise" poses the question: what could happen to the earth's environment if all the frogs and toads disappear? A couple hears of this possibility and try to find out more through lectures from scientists who can attest to this problem. But should they be worried?
"Filthy With Things" is about a couple who can't stop buying things and storing them everywhere in their house, garage, and yard. So what are the consequences when they decide to get help? Hoarding 101!
"Without a Hero" is a rather poignant story about a Russian woman who comes to America for the good life. But will the man she starts a relationship with give her what he wants? If not, what is her fate?
"Back in the Eocene" tells how schooling has changed. A father accompanies his son to his school where a policeman gives a lecture on the harms of drug use. The father contemplates about how when he went to the school they read the classics and learned about geology. But have the changes been for the worse?
"Carnal Knowledge" was one of my favorites about a man who gets involved with a woman who is a vegan and animal rights activist. He agrees to go with her on an excursion to liberate some turkeys two days before Thanksgiving with very unfortunate results.
The remaining stories were also quite gook and overall I would highly recommend this collection.
"Big Game" tells what happens to a couple who have made money in real estate and want to experience what it's like to hunt big game in Africa. But instead of going on a safari in Kenya, they go to a mock African ranch outside of Bakersfield where the owner has an assortment of animals including zebra, lion, and an elephant. So what's the worst that could happen?
"Hopes Rise" poses the question: what could happen to the earth's environment if all the frogs and toads disappear? A couple hears of this possibility and try to find out more through lectures from scientists who can attest to this problem. But should they be worried?
"Filthy With Things" is about a couple who can't stop buying things and storing them everywhere in their house, garage, and yard. So what are the consequences when they decide to get help? Hoarding 101!
"Without a Hero" is a rather poignant story about a Russian woman who comes to America for the good life. But will the man she starts a relationship with give her what he wants? If not, what is her fate?
"Back in the Eocene" tells how schooling has changed. A father accompanies his son to his school where a policeman gives a lecture on the harms of drug use. The father contemplates about how when he went to the school they read the classics and learned about geology. But have the changes been for the worse?
"Carnal Knowledge" was one of my favorites about a man who gets involved with a woman who is a vegan and animal rights activist. He agrees to go with her on an excursion to liberate some turkeys two days before Thanksgiving with very unfortunate results.
The remaining stories were also quite gook and overall I would highly recommend this collection.
September 22, 2011
I always struggle writing reviews for short story collections because I could write separate reviews for each one of the 15 stories included in Boyle's Without a Hero. This is the second set of short stories I've read by T.C. Boyle, the first being Tooth and Claw. Of the two, I definitely preferred this one. Boyle has a way of capturing the absurdity of human life and through absurd situations show emotions and thoughts that are universal human emotions. Boyle creates stories that demonstrate how strange and weird life can be. I love the way Boyle describes the worlds he creates; "a big blocky old lady with a face like the bottom of a hiking boot." Most of these stories made me feel uncomfortable or tense. For example, the eery experience of being stalked by a weirdo while living in a glass box in "Sitting on Top of the World" and the absurd horror of shooting African game on a faux safari in California in "Big Game." My general reaction to every story is something along the lines of "what the heck??" and then rapidly reading to the conclusion. Boyle is a master of capturing multitudes of different feelings and individuals who all have an underlying common humanness about them. A very talented and creative writer.
July 13, 2007
T.C. Boyle has written several collections of stories, and to be honest, I like them all. Immensely. They all hover between four and five stars for me, so rather than give them all just four stars, I've chosen to give five to this one. Possibly only because I've read it more recently than some of the others. But really, I like his writing very much. Smart, funny, writes well - the guy totally rocks!
In all of his stuff that I've read, the only obvious misstep was "The Road to Wellville", whose subject matter didn't hold up to a full-length novel. If pressed, I'd have to say that I think shorter stories are his strength, but that's not to say none of his novels hold up ("East is East" or "The Tortilla Curtain", for example, are well worth reading, IMO)
In all of his stuff that I've read, the only obvious misstep was "The Road to Wellville", whose subject matter didn't hold up to a full-length novel. If pressed, I'd have to say that I think shorter stories are his strength, but that's not to say none of his novels hold up ("East is East" or "The Tortilla Curtain", for example, are well worth reading, IMO)
May 31, 2023
One of the craziest things I've ever read
Without a Hero - T.C. Boyle
If you're looking for something different: this is it.
Funny at first sight, but actually darkly satirical.
BIG GAME
"He was just lucky nobody had shot himself in the foot yet. Or the head. Of course, he was insured for that, too."
HOPES RISE
"They're just disappearing. Poof."
I considered that a moment, disappearing frogs, especially as they related to my throbbing and ruined back. I pictured them - squat, long of leg, with extruded eyes and slick mucus-covered skin. I remembered stalking them as a boy with my laxly strung bow and blunt arrows, recalled the sound of the spring peepers and their clumsy attempts at escape, their limbs bound up in ropy strings of eggs. Frogs. Suddenly I was nostalgic: what kind of world would it be without them?
Without a Hero - T.C. Boyle
If you're looking for something different: this is it.
Funny at first sight, but actually darkly satirical.
BIG GAME
"He was just lucky nobody had shot himself in the foot yet. Or the head. Of course, he was insured for that, too."
HOPES RISE
"They're just disappearing. Poof."
I considered that a moment, disappearing frogs, especially as they related to my throbbing and ruined back. I pictured them - squat, long of leg, with extruded eyes and slick mucus-covered skin. I remembered stalking them as a boy with my laxly strung bow and blunt arrows, recalled the sound of the spring peepers and their clumsy attempts at escape, their limbs bound up in ropy strings of eggs. Frogs. Suddenly I was nostalgic: what kind of world would it be without them?
May 3, 2024
Прецизен, пищен, богат език и многозначителни истории – винаги на ръба между смешното и печалното.
Бойл е покоряващ!
Построил е обемен свят, благодарение на безпощадната си наблюдателност: към скритите механизми, които ни карат да бъдем жестоки или просто ожесточени, ядни, инертни, егоцентрични. Но и влюбчиви, уязвими, самотни.
Героите му не познават себе си, действат, тласкани от инстинкти, цивилизационни рефлекси, обществен натиск или по силата на неясните си емоции. И често с действията или бездействието си нарушават етичните норми. Но някъде там винаги има светлинка, намек за утешение, тъга, която е лековита. Вяра, че светът ще оцелее, ще продължи.
Човешките деца в тези кратки разкази порастват някак насила. Семействата са приклещени в привидните си ритуали. Градовете са капани за човешки съдби. Всичко сякаш е на самотек. А отвъд дребните ни социални договори е огромното царство на другите биологични видове, към които ние не се чувстваме принадлежни. И които унищожаваме, пръскаме с хербициди и ДДТ, отстрелваме.
Този сборник ще ви напомня непрекъснато, че сме безмилостни. И ще се уповава на горчивата сатира. Но няма да ви обезсърчи.
Темите, които Т.Бойл внимателно досяга, са огромни и важни. И по един загадъчен, почти Фокнъров начин, ни карат да приемем нищите духом, да обикнем нищите себе си.
Бойл е покоряващ!
Построил е обемен свят, благодарение на безпощадната си наблюдателност: към скритите механизми, които ни карат да бъдем жестоки или просто ожесточени, ядни, инертни, егоцентрични. Но и влюбчиви, уязвими, самотни.
Героите му не познават себе си, действат, тласкани от инстинкти, цивилизационни рефлекси, обществен натиск или по силата на неясните си емоции. И често с действията или бездействието си нарушават етичните норми. Но някъде там винаги има светлинка, намек за утешение, тъга, която е лековита. Вяра, че светът ще оцелее, ще продължи.
Човешките деца в тези кратки разкази порастват някак насила. Семействата са приклещени в привидните си ритуали. Градовете са капани за човешки съдби. Всичко сякаш е на самотек. А отвъд дребните ни социални договори е огромното царство на другите биологични видове, към които ние не се чувстваме принадлежни. И които унищожаваме, пръскаме с хербициди и ДДТ, отстрелваме.
Този сборник ще ви напомня непрекъснато, че сме безмилостни. И ще се уповава на горчивата сатира. Но няма да ви обезсърчи.
Темите, които Т.Бойл внимателно досяга, са огромни и важни. И по един загадъчен, почти Фокнъров начин, ни карат да приемем нищите духом, да обикнем нищите себе си.
March 7, 2020
Ich konnte nur wenige der 15 Kurzgeschichten lesen, viele habe ich sofort abgebrochen. Sie handelten zu oft von Umweltkatastrophen eder Vegetariern, und Boyle schreibt oft aufdringlich laut, etwa der Einstieg zur Geschichte Beat:
Yeah, i was Beat. We were all Beat. Hell, I'm Beat now ((…))
Häufig sind die Situationen grell absurd übertrieben. Geschichten, die ich gelesen habe:
Mann hat Rückenleiden, sorgt sich dann um Aussterben der Frösche und Kröten – sehr heterogen, beginnt mit vielversprechendem Dialog beim Arzt und kippt dann enttäuschend ins Semi-Absurde
Geschiedener Mann lässt attraktive junge Russin bei sich wohnen, die sich aber teils als femme fatale entpuppt
Kauf- und trinksüchtiger Ehefraudrachen, ihr Ehemannopfer und heterogen hineingemischt ein verheerender Sturm
Assoziationen:
Boyles frühere Kurzgeschichtensammlung Tod durch Ertrinken/Descent of Man (1979) wirkt ebenfalls im Ton aufgeblasen und absurd unrealistisch.
Nicht anders, wenn auch professioneller, die viel spätere Boyle-Sammlung The Relive Box.
Yeah, i was Beat. We were all Beat. Hell, I'm Beat now ((…))
Häufig sind die Situationen grell absurd übertrieben. Geschichten, die ich gelesen habe:
Mann hat Rückenleiden, sorgt sich dann um Aussterben der Frösche und Kröten – sehr heterogen, beginnt mit vielversprechendem Dialog beim Arzt und kippt dann enttäuschend ins Semi-Absurde
Geschiedener Mann lässt attraktive junge Russin bei sich wohnen, die sich aber teils als femme fatale entpuppt
Kauf- und trinksüchtiger Ehefraudrachen, ihr Ehemannopfer und heterogen hineingemischt ein verheerender Sturm
Assoziationen:
Boyles frühere Kurzgeschichtensammlung Tod durch Ertrinken/Descent of Man (1979) wirkt ebenfalls im Ton aufgeblasen und absurd unrealistisch.
Nicht anders, wenn auch professioneller, die viel spätere Boyle-Sammlung The Relive Box.
October 21, 2017
As usual, T.C. Boyle is phenomenal. No one else could write a story about football and make me care this much. This story is perfect! The stunners in this collection: 56-0, The Fog Man, Sitting on Top of the World, Big Game, Back in the Eocene, Carnal Knowledge. Second tier of greatness that I can't not mention: Filthy with Things, Top of the Food Chain, Without A Hero, Little America. But as usual, I enjoy each story. And as usual, my least favorite stories are the ones that just don't contain enough detail for me. Over the last two years, I've read the entirety of the massive first collection of short story collections and I still want MORE. I think the first four of his short story collections descend in greatness, but only by a slim margin with 'Descent of Man' definitely being the favorite collection. Mr. Boyle, always the genius. I'm so glad he writes so much. If I could only read one writer's books, Boyle would be it.
August 24, 2025
I'm intentionally working through my stack of short stories, because they are not my favorite genre. T C Boyle's collections, however, are an exception - I love reading them. Boyle packs so much action into these short fictions, and they linger in the memory, a rare feature of short stories. They are just pure fun to read.
My favorite stories were "Filthy with Things," about a hoarder and her husband, who hires a professional to help, with extreme consequences; "Respect," about two men at the heads of their crime families who have had a falling out over something trivial but are struggling w/ being too fat and too thin; "Carnal Knowledge" about a guy who turns eco-terrorist to impress a girl; "56-0" about the players of a beaten and wounded college football team and their desperate fight to prevent a season ending 56-0; and "Sitting on the Top of the World" about a woman who is in a fire tower for a season.
My favorite stories were "Filthy with Things," about a hoarder and her husband, who hires a professional to help, with extreme consequences; "Respect," about two men at the heads of their crime families who have had a falling out over something trivial but are struggling w/ being too fat and too thin; "Carnal Knowledge" about a guy who turns eco-terrorist to impress a girl; "56-0" about the players of a beaten and wounded college football team and their desperate fight to prevent a season ending 56-0; and "Sitting on the Top of the World" about a woman who is in a fire tower for a season.
May 1, 2021
„Fleischeslust“ ist meiner Meinung nach nicht die beste Kurzgeschichten-Sammlung von T.C. Boyle, enthält aber mehr als genug ausgesprochen unterhaltsame und abwechslungsreiche Geschichten um jeden der Kurzgeschichten und/oder Boyle mag definitiv nicht zu enttäuschen.
Die beiden besten Storys sind ausgerechnet die beiden letzten, die sind sowohl originell als und tiefgründig und großartig geschrieben. Die meisten davor leiden ein klein wenig darunter auf der einen Seite nicht wirklich komplex zu sein, auf der anderen Seite aber auch nicht so völlig abgedreht und verrückt wie Boyle es eben auch kann. Aber das ist Klagen auf hohen Niveau und tut dem Lesevergnügen im Grunde keinen Abbruch. Nur dass man eben weiß (und in den letzten beiden Geschichten auch sieht) dass er es noch besser kann...
Die beiden besten Storys sind ausgerechnet die beiden letzten, die sind sowohl originell als und tiefgründig und großartig geschrieben. Die meisten davor leiden ein klein wenig darunter auf der einen Seite nicht wirklich komplex zu sein, auf der anderen Seite aber auch nicht so völlig abgedreht und verrückt wie Boyle es eben auch kann. Aber das ist Klagen auf hohen Niveau und tut dem Lesevergnügen im Grunde keinen Abbruch. Nur dass man eben weiß (und in den letzten beiden Geschichten auch sieht) dass er es noch besser kann...
January 1, 2026
The stories in the collection Without A Hero by T. Coraghessan Boyle are excellent. A couple might not have the fastball that the title story and Big Game have, but almost all have that little something that sets apart a story by TC Boyle from those of other less talented writers. He is a master of the form, and that is why I could still appreciate his stories published in the New Yorker and in other outlets, beginning in the 90’s and probably before.
This book came to me as a gift. The week I began reading it was the week I found out the person who gave it to me had died. Kirk Emerson was a teacher at Holland High School, and he coached soccer, and he was a Boyle devotee. When he retired from teaching at HHS, he gifted me a number of things. Some books, some soccer equipment, and so on. He was moving to California, and he said didn’t need them. I said are you sure? “Yep, yep, I’ve got lots of these, no need for them.”
Both this book, and the other one he gave me, If Whiskey Were A River, are author-signed first editions. What a guy. We are going to miss him. Kirk was engaged with some sort of academic project around TC Boyle and his work, but I never heard about what came of it. I am curious. Maybe I can find out more about it when we meet with some of his friends and family on January 5, 2026 in Holland, at Skile’s Tavern.
This book came to me as a gift. The week I began reading it was the week I found out the person who gave it to me had died. Kirk Emerson was a teacher at Holland High School, and he coached soccer, and he was a Boyle devotee. When he retired from teaching at HHS, he gifted me a number of things. Some books, some soccer equipment, and so on. He was moving to California, and he said didn’t need them. I said are you sure? “Yep, yep, I’ve got lots of these, no need for them.”
Both this book, and the other one he gave me, If Whiskey Were A River, are author-signed first editions. What a guy. We are going to miss him. Kirk was engaged with some sort of academic project around TC Boyle and his work, but I never heard about what came of it. I am curious. Maybe I can find out more about it when we meet with some of his friends and family on January 5, 2026 in Holland, at Skile’s Tavern.
June 21, 2022
Sharp, humorous, and touching short stories. Most of them involve familiar Boyle subjects, especially an ambivalence toward blind support of environmental causes and an exhaustion toward modern American consumerism. The only criticism I have is that some of the stories are more short experimental sketches than fully fleshed-out narratives. Still, overall I would strongly recommend this collection, especially to someone already familiar with Boyle’s work. My favorites here are “Filthy With Things,” “Carnal Knowledge,” and “Little America.”
March 29, 2019
This is the second short story collection by T.C. Boyle that I have read. While I preferred After the Plague to this one, it’s to the author’s credit that I rated this book so highly despite finding many of his topics uncomfortable to read. T.C. Boyle has an incredible talent that allows him to create a robust world with well rounded characters in 20 pages or less. I am in awe of his talent.
December 22, 2023
A vast arrangement of stories, some of which I adored and some that lost me. Overall I think this collection is an incredibly diverse and exciting look at all sorts of human absurdities and contradictions and the disappointments, longings, and complicated relationships that are essential to our existence.
September 9, 2017
I am not much of a fan of short stories, but this collection was better than most. Each story was individually quirky and an interesting read. Well written, but nothing sensational. A little funny in places and certainly entertaining in small doses. Best read a few at a time.
March 17, 2018
I don't read many short story collections any more, and this was an example of why - they just don't have enough substance. There are a few good ideas here, and some of the stories were really compelling. Many others are entirely forgettable.
August 23, 2021
This is a book of short stories. Book was recommended and loaned to me by a neighbor. Something I would not have normally read. Stories were on a wide variety of slightly bizarre topics. Can’t say any of them actually had a truly happy ending.
December 22, 2018
This should be required reading for anyone setting policy on our environment.
January 9, 2020
These stories are points less. You read them and then ask why they were written.
May 24, 2020
Great collection of short stories. Not a bad one amongst them
July 17, 2020
One story in particular made me so angry, I flipped to the end. All of the stories arouse emotions.
May 28, 2024
Thought some of these were funny and it went down smooth. But this collection feels a little too much like a "peer into my sick and twisted crazy ass mind" kind of thing. which I'm not a huge fan of
January 11, 2017
Fifteen varied stories which smack the funny-bone hard, until it splinters and shatters (inevitably) like the aspirations of many of the characters that TCB brings to life so memorably. My own top 5 are (in reverse order...) Hopes Rise, Acts of God, Carnal Knowledge, Little America and Sitting on Top of the World. One dud is Beat where you feel the story has been written in order to play with a pun, although the domestic interactions between Jack Kerouac and his mum are pretty amusing.
March 14, 2018
This is the first thing I've read by T.C. Boyle. That probably wasn't a good choice, because as I can see now, it's nowhere close to being one of his most successful books.
In my rating system, two stars means below average compared to everything else I've read--not all books. I'm sure it's better than a LOT of books that I've just avoided. But two stars also means that it probably won't be read by me again. Not in its entirety, anyway.
Short story collections are tricky to rate, too, for obvious reasons. It feels wrong to give Without A Hero a low rating because there some stories I really liked. There were two stories in Without A Hero that I would rate 4/5: "Filthy With Things" and "Sitting On Top of the World". I would give "Without A Hero" a 5/5, and it would have been the best short story I've read in a long time, if I hadn't been reading I Sailed With Magellan at the same time I read this.
Other than those three, Without A Hero is forgettable. In one story, some dude has a crisis because some frogs are going extinct. In another, we get to hear about a bad football team. In yet another, a kid meets his heroes, and has an awesome time. Meanwhile, I'm in a hurry to get to the next story! Some of the plots and characters in this book (usually one or the other) are severely lacking in depth. The only reason to read them is because Boyle unfailingly gives you a surprise at the end of almost every story. Sometimes it's an absurd twist; other times, a confrontation that could go in any direction. Some of the lesser stories seem to have no purpose except to build up to the last sentence. When this last sentence is disappointing, the entire story is ruined, obviously.
There's also the matter of Boyle's humor. A lot of the stories are basically jokes. I can assure you these joke-stories are wittier and more satirical than "knock-knock who's there" or "Your mamma's so fat"; but sadly, they aren't any funnier.
However, Boyle also has times when he is "on". His vocabulary and vernacular are impressive; sometimes he overdoes it, but he is usually very good at using the first-person--sometimes from challenging perspectives. He has a knack for making you care about a character after only a few sentences. Unfortunately, there were few instances in this collection when I was engrossed enough by the plots to care about what happened to the characters.
The story "Without a Hero" was great, but the book Without A Hero was pretty disappointing. It probably won't be long until I read the title story again, but other than that, I'm afraid I'll have to forget about this book. Luckily, I liked parts of it enough that I bought one of T.C. Boyle's novels, Water Music. He will get another chance to impress me soon enough!
In my rating system, two stars means below average compared to everything else I've read--not all books. I'm sure it's better than a LOT of books that I've just avoided. But two stars also means that it probably won't be read by me again. Not in its entirety, anyway.
Short story collections are tricky to rate, too, for obvious reasons. It feels wrong to give Without A Hero a low rating because there some stories I really liked. There were two stories in Without A Hero that I would rate 4/5: "Filthy With Things" and "Sitting On Top of the World". I would give "Without A Hero" a 5/5, and it would have been the best short story I've read in a long time, if I hadn't been reading I Sailed With Magellan at the same time I read this.
Other than those three, Without A Hero is forgettable. In one story, some dude has a crisis because some frogs are going extinct. In another, we get to hear about a bad football team. In yet another, a kid meets his heroes, and has an awesome time. Meanwhile, I'm in a hurry to get to the next story! Some of the plots and characters in this book (usually one or the other) are severely lacking in depth. The only reason to read them is because Boyle unfailingly gives you a surprise at the end of almost every story. Sometimes it's an absurd twist; other times, a confrontation that could go in any direction. Some of the lesser stories seem to have no purpose except to build up to the last sentence. When this last sentence is disappointing, the entire story is ruined, obviously.
There's also the matter of Boyle's humor. A lot of the stories are basically jokes. I can assure you these joke-stories are wittier and more satirical than "knock-knock who's there" or "Your mamma's so fat"; but sadly, they aren't any funnier.
However, Boyle also has times when he is "on". His vocabulary and vernacular are impressive; sometimes he overdoes it, but he is usually very good at using the first-person--sometimes from challenging perspectives. He has a knack for making you care about a character after only a few sentences. Unfortunately, there were few instances in this collection when I was engrossed enough by the plots to care about what happened to the characters.
The story "Without a Hero" was great, but the book Without A Hero was pretty disappointing. It probably won't be long until I read the title story again, but other than that, I'm afraid I'll have to forget about this book. Luckily, I liked parts of it enough that I bought one of T.C. Boyle's novels, Water Music. He will get another chance to impress me soon enough!
March 23, 2013
T.C. Boyle's collection of short stories sometimes stray into the fantastic, but always are grounded in urban reality. I found the urban reality of it kind of depressing, myself, but I can see how some people would love it. I thought his strongest story was Top of the Food Chain, about a guy (kinda like him) who gets caught up in animal rights activism because he has the hots for a girl PETA agent (maybe not exactly PETA but something close). It rings true. Boyle's other stories about has-beens and losers continuing to fail may also ring true, but are just plain depressing.
October 6, 2008
Although T.C. Boyle is my favorite author, I have always stuck to his novels despite the fact that friends have told me he is a better short story writer. And, after all this time I have finally realized that they are right. This is a great collection. How he manages to come up with so many quirky subjects is amazing...
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