Book Review of No Way Home by T.C. Boyle

 

Name of Book: No Way Home

Author: T.C. Boyle

ISBN: 978-1-324-09752-5

Publisher: Liveright 

Type of book: Boulder City Nevada, desert, helplessness, hopelessness, friendship, relationships, being a resident, doctor money, limits, post 2020s, causing pain 

Year it was published: 2026

Summary:

David Lynch meets Fight Club in T. C. Boyle’s most compulsive, obsessive, and psychologically haunting novel in many years.

No Way Home tells the haunting story of Terrence Tully, an LA medical resident who is abruptly informed that his mother has died. Arriving at her home in a forlorn Nevada desert town, the naive doctor finds himself “like a swimmer caught in a riptide,” drawn into a love triangle involving the manipulative, margarita–swilling receptionist Bethany and her ex–boyfriend Jesse, a vengeful middle–school teacher cocksure about his sexual prowess. There is indeed no way home for Tully, who cannot extricate himself from this aimless, post–twenty–something world where motorcycle races and violent brawls puncture the daily grind of nowhere jobs, aimless sex, and recreational highs. Is retribution, Boyle asks, a natural human instinct? Can sexual jealousy bring on a level of vengeance that is downright pathological? With its depiction of a desiccated town struggling in the dark shadows of a luminous, mountainous horizon, No Way Home is a tour de force by an American master at his finest.

Characters:

There are three main characters: Terrence, Bethany and Jesse. Terrence is a doctor who seems to be depressive, helpless and feels as if he is stuck in one place and one life. Bethany is a receptionist who is outgoing and who is independent minded and cares a lot about appearances. She doesn't strike me as manipulative but she seems to enjoy the martyr role much more than she should. Jesse is Bethany's ex-boyfriend who is all passion and little logic. (In Freud's terms, Terrence is superego, Bethany is possibly ego and Jesse is id) He does what he wants with little to no regard for consequences and if anything, he is the manipulative one. He is also a talented writer who is not afraid of taking advantage of people. 

Theme:

I honestly am clueless as to what the theme is and I have read the book from cover to cover. Maybe its the idea of no matter how much characters try to get out of the mire of life they are not able to? 

Plot:

The story is in third person narrative from Terrence's, Jesse's and Bethany's points of view, each section devoted to specific character. The story begins with Terrence going back to Boulder City in Nevada to take care of business after his mother passes away (namely the house,  car and dog) and there he meets Bethany and her ex-boyfriend Jesse. What was done well is the atmosphere of helplessness among the residents,  of trying to accept things the way they are rather than strive to do and be better. In my opinion there needs to be more work on Bethany and Jesse namely because their voices are interchangeable and I am not sure I understood the purpose of Bethany's sections.  I barely learned anything about her and cannot judge whether or not Jesse is right about her. Terrence's section is done well in helping the reader picture how he sees the world through disease and symptoms. I also would have liked more background information about the characters and why they make the decisions they did and I really wanted to understand Bethany but couldn't. (It will bug me, but how is she manipulative?) 

Author Information:
(From goodreads)

N/A

Opinion:

In tone and atmosphere its very similar to one of my favorite science fiction novels,  WHISPER OF DEATH by Christopher Pike which has the helplessness of the vast desert and small town life where people escape than move in, something I strongly enjoyed. I also liked the characters, how Terry sees people through symptoms rather than as humans (very well done) but I do think that in terms of two other main characters, more work needs to be done, and I honestly am lost over how the female character is classified as manipulative? I also would like to mention that there is harm to a dog as well as off scenes rape in one of the scenes so reader discretion is advised. 

This was given for  review

4 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)