So much so, in fact, that even after spending time in jail for his participation in the movement, he cannot stop goading the lumber companies and their law-enforcement friends. Eventually it ruins his marriage. Global warming is in full effect, and some terrible fates have visited the animals as Pulchris' estate endures endless downpours and a massive mudslide. The long-departed Andrea shows up with a writer friend who wants to get Sierra's story on tape, and their arrival forces the flinty Tierwater to confront the sad episodes of his life. This one, though, never finds much purchase.
Nobody wants to read about it.
For Boyle, a fiction writer who relishes the eccentricities of his fellow man, that's no option at all. Even in his lesser moments, the author doesn't lose his tight, amusing grip on the English language. It's a true enough emotion. Regrettably, the characters Boyle has come up with to express it don't ring true at all.