The Road to Wellville. T. C. Boyle. Penguin Books. USA. 1994.

Review by Joel
At first I didn’t like this book. I found it in Borders Books and liked the idea of the story, from the teaser on the back. Now that it has been a few weeks since reading it, my head is starting to digest it and I am finding I did like it. I just couldn’t admit it to myself. My therapist says that I have attention deficit disorder and that I have an anger management problem. So I shot him. Bu bum bum tssss…… Ok that was cheap and stupid. But it may illustrate some of my misgivings on the initial read of the book.

I got it for the “insider” history of Dr. John Kellogg, inventor of Corn Flakes or the process to make them. I found out a lot about him, his sanitarium, and the times that the story was set in. There is a lot of silent juxtapositioning of present day diet crazes and health nut fakirs that I didn’t get right away. It was very interesting to see Kellogg treated as a zealot and all-knowing doctor. Boyle explains the prejudices of the times where doctors were treated with awe and respect, and patients easily fooled, which sets up the plot to the story. We have the Lightbodys, Will and Eleanor, rich and constantly sick, searching for some kind of cure on the one hand, while Charlie Ossining is unwittingly learning the ropes of flimflamming through a start-up cereal corporation.

Boyle really did his research on the era, and made it easy to emphasize with the characters even though they were at times disgusting. So back to the set up joke. The one thing I didn’t like was the way certain scenes would be built up, only to have some tragicomic punch line. I’m sorry I just didn’t like that about the book. After awhile I could guess what was coming.

Which shouldn’t detract from recommending it. I still liked the book, and T. C. Boyle is a powerhouse writer. I will definitely find more of his work.

Joel.