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A review by tamargabrielle
A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle
2.0
"Because to be a friend of the earth, you have to be an enemy of the people."
This book is set in the near future, where we did not manage to stop climate change. An "eco-nut", who is now caring for a few animals that are not yet extinct, is confronted with his past.
The story switches from past to present, slowly giving away what happened to the main character Ty, and his family. Ty is an interesting character, but it was hard to root for him every now and then.
Although the premise of the story was interesting, I was a little bit let down by the form of activism Ty and the organization he was with engaged in. A big thing in the story is them trying to stop rainforest from being cut down, but they don't adress the cause of the problem. They didn't adress their own habits much. Ty doesn't support his daughters veganism, and eats meat even whilst the climate has broken down. I do have to cut the writer some slack here, as the past of Ty's story is set in the 90's, and the book was written in 2000. But it's strange that Ty is so cutthroat in his activism, whilst not changing much in his personal life.
Aside from that, I really did enjoy it. The book questions how far you should go for a cause, when it means endangering yourself and those closest to you. The reality Ty lives in in his present is tragic, and basically becoming our reality now as well.
A Friend of the Earth is an amusing read, and the ending was satisfying, but it did not give me what I was hoping for.
This book is set in the near future, where we did not manage to stop climate change. An "eco-nut", who is now caring for a few animals that are not yet extinct, is confronted with his past.
The story switches from past to present, slowly giving away what happened to the main character Ty, and his family. Ty is an interesting character, but it was hard to root for him every now and then.
Although the premise of the story was interesting, I was a little bit let down by the form of activism Ty and the organization he was with engaged in. A big thing in the story is them trying to stop rainforest from being cut down, but they don't adress the cause of the problem. They didn't adress their own habits much. Ty doesn't support his daughters veganism, and eats meat even whilst the climate has broken down. I do have to cut the writer some slack here, as the past of Ty's story is set in the 90's, and the book was written in 2000. But it's strange that Ty is so cutthroat in his activism, whilst not changing much in his personal life.
Aside from that, I really did enjoy it. The book questions how far you should go for a cause, when it means endangering yourself and those closest to you. The reality Ty lives in in his present is tragic, and basically becoming our reality now as well.
A Friend of the Earth is an amusing read, and the ending was satisfying, but it did not give me what I was hoping for.