A FRIEND OF THE EARTH

It's a mystery why some masters of the short story are such dreadful novelists, and T.C. Boyle is a prime example. His short fiction is always clever and occasionally unforgettable, while this boggy "satire" is a mess. In this family drama, male-menopause division, set in an unfunny futurist vision of a post-environmental disaster America , Boyle strings scenes together but seems to have no idea how to make them build into anything. Scott Brick's reading is unobjectionable, but it would take a great deal more than that to make A FRIEND OF THE EARTH worthwhile. B.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 01]