Breakfast Food and "Biological Living" Try tagging a single description on T. Coraghessan Boyle's newest novel, The Road to Wellville, and you'll find yourself quickly perplexed. Is it broad, social satire? Indeed. A fictionalized historical account? Yes. Or simply, American fiction at its wiliest best? Most definitely. With The Road to Wellville, his fifth novel, Boyle reaffirms his status as one of America's most intriguing, inventive and intelligent authors. A self-described "former punk and hippie," Boyle makes no bones about his hunger for literary superstardom. One of the author's close friends told The New York Times: "(Boyle) does want to become the greatest writer ever. But he also really wants to be famous the same way Zsa Zsa Gabor wants to be famous." Wellville may not boost Boyle to Zsa Zsa's dubious apex, but the novel does establish him as a bona fide literary behemoth. Set in 1907 in Battle Creek, Michigan-"the breakfast-food capital of the world"- Wellville centers on Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, "the inventor of the con flake and peanut butter, not to mention some 75 other gastrically correct foods." Kellogg is also the founder and director of the celebrated Battle Creek Sanitarium, "a luxury hotel, hospital and spa rolled into one." At the "San," as it is referred to, Kellogg vehemently preaches the benefits of "biologic living." To help his wealthy and worldly patients achieve this physiological state, the good Doctor prescribes a regimen of dietary restraint and experimental treatments. Included in Kellogg's plan for better living: a strict vegetarian, no alcohol diet; sinusoidal baths; laughing exercise "Vibrotherapy"; and; five enemas, or "colon washes," daily. Among the patients who must endure Kellogg's therapeutic eccentricities are Will and Eleanor Lightbody from Peterskill, New York. The young couple faces both emotional and physical duress-the loss of a child, Will's gas-trointestinal problems and Eleanor's. Already a devotee to the San way of life. Eleanor had convinced her husband they would find healthful salvation under the determined care of Dr. Kellogg and his dedicated staff. Unlike his wife, however, Will is suspicious of biologic living and would like nothing more than to bury his face in a rare porterhouse steak and consume large amounts of whiskey. While traveling to Kellogg's Sanitarium, the Lightbodys had encountered Charlie Ossling, an engaging young entrepreneur who also hopes to find salvation in Battle Creek-but of the financial kind. A former stable boy raised by a wealthy widow, Charlie is determined to make his fortune selling breakfast cereal and has formed a partnership with the opportunistic Goodloe Bender. Upon arriving in Battle Creek, however, Charlie quickly learns his dreams of becoming the next C. W. Post (of Grape Nuts fame) are far from reality. In fact, he soon discovers Bender is nothing more than a first-rate con artist. Also roaming the streets of Battle Creek is George Kellogg, one of Dr. Kellogg's many adopted children. George is the proverbial family black sheep. A vagrant and drunk, he delights in tormenting his father, who initially succumbs to George's extortionist tactics. With these odd and diverse characters, Boyle creates a platform to showcase his wry storytelling abilities and rich narration skills. As the story lines interweave and the characters interact, Boyle reaches new heights in satirical melodrama. The Road to Wellville is a smart, funny and powerful piece of quasihistorical fiction. Even more it provides a unique glimpse into human nature and the human condition. Dr. Kellogg's struggle with his estranged son, the Lightbodys' marital conflict and young Charlie's hopeless battle for business success are core elements which embrazon the characters with humanness. As with his previous novels-East is East, World's End and Water Music-Boyle refrains from offering an obvious hero. Instead. his characters are ominously more human-flawed. sometimes insidious and possibly capable of pure evil. In spite of it all, however. they are never unlikable. Boyle truly has the gift of conjuring enduring characters. He is also expert at telling an engrossing and often hilarious story, while maintaining all the compassion and tenderness of the best 19th century novelists. Wellville is not a story that will be easily forgotten, and its entertainment potential has already been recognized (Alan Parker, director of The Commitments and Mississippi Burning, bought the film rights, with shooting to begin next spring). Boyle has said he hopes to become the Kurt Vonnegut of his generation. With Wellville-albeit defying all efforts at categorization-he may just do it. |