Riven Rock, published in 1998, is a novel by the American author T. Coraghessan Boyle. It concerns the life of Stanley McCormick, a son of Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the reaper, and Stanley's devoted wife, Katherine McCormick, daughter of Wirt Dexter, a prominent Chicago lawyer.
The novel is a work of fiction based on actual people.[1]
The locale of most of the story is Riven Rock, an estate located near Montecito, Santa Barbara County, California, and owned by the McCormick family. Stanley, having developed severe mental problems, is confined to the estate for the rest of his life, during which repeated attempts to cure him by various medical experts are to no avail.
Stanley and Katharine live largely separate lives. The reader comes to know Katharine slightly better than her husband, if only because she is a functioning member of society (albeit sexually deprived) whereas he is either catatonic or in a violent rage for much of the time. (He has been diagnosed as suffering from dementia praecox, among other conditions, his deepest fears—and hatreds—reserved for women.)
A third protagonist, Eddie O’Kane, is Stanley’s chief nurse throughout his stay at Riven Rock. O’Kane and his tumultuous relationships with women are described in numerous sections in the novel, forming a third storyline interwoven with those of Katharine and Stanley. Boyle thus ranges between accounts of high society (and its madnesses) and the alcoholism and romantic desperation of O’Kane, the Irish-American stiff.
The three parts of the novel parallel those times during which three different psychiatrists preside over Stanley’s care, a unique though essentially arbitrary division (because the main story continues virtually unchanged throughout). The first caretaker is Dr. Hamilton, who is more interested in studying the apes and monkeys he has brought to the estate than in helping Stanley to improve. The second one is Dr. Brush, something of a nonentity who quickly gives up on any prospect of saving the patient. The third is Dr. Kempf, a psychoanalyst who achieves some success in bringing Stanley around to being able to interact with women, including, after nearly twenty years, his wife Katharine. In the end, though, the patient reverts to abnormal behavior, and Katharine sues (unsuccessfully) in court to obtain full control over Stanley’s care (where for the duration she has shared it with the McCormicks).
Riven Rock probes male-female relationships, the nature of psychiatric care (as it existed in the early twentieth century), and the crazy mix of classes and ethnicities that is modern America. It also shows, above all, how much is to be gained by giving literary treatment to historical characters and events—an exercise that Boyle repeats in The Women and other of his works.
^Dennis Rodkin (2 April 1998). "The Exceedingly Strange Case of the McCormick Sex Machine". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
External linksedit
T.C. Boyle official web site
April 11, 2024
riven, rock, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, ci. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Riven Rock news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article contains content that is written like an advertisement Please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view September 2018 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Riven Rock published in 1998 is a novel by the American author T Coraghessan Boyle It concerns the life of Stanley McCormick a son of Cyrus McCormick inventor of the reaper and Stanley s devoted wife Katherine McCormick daughter of Wirt Dexter a prominent Chicago lawyer Riven RockUS edition coverAuthorT C BoyleCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishPublisherViking PressPublication dateFebruary 1 1998Media typePrint Hardcover amp Paperback Pages496 p ISBN0 670 87881 2The novel is a work of fiction based on actual people 1 The locale of most of the story is Riven Rock an estate located near Montecito Santa Barbara County California and owned by the McCormick family Stanley having developed severe mental problems is confined to the estate for the rest of his life during which repeated attempts to cure him by various medical experts are to no avail Stanley and Katharine live largely separate lives The reader comes to know Katharine slightly better than her husband if only because she is a functioning member of society albeit sexually deprived whereas he is either catatonic or in a violent rage for much of the time He has been diagnosed as suffering from dementia praecox among other conditions his deepest fears and hatreds reserved for women A third protagonist Eddie O Kane is Stanley s chief nurse throughout his stay at Riven Rock O Kane and his tumultuous relationships with women are described in numerous sections in the novel forming a third storyline interwoven with those of Katharine and Stanley Boyle thus ranges between accounts of high society and its madnesses and the alcoholism and romantic desperation of O Kane the Irish American stiff The three parts of the novel parallel those times during which three different psychiatrists preside over Stanley s care a unique though essentially arbitrary division because the main story continues virtually unchanged throughout The first caretaker is Dr Hamilton who is more interested in studying the apes and monkeys he has brought to the estate than in helping Stanley to improve The second one is Dr Brush something of a nonentity who quickly gives up on any prospect of saving the patient The third is Dr Kempf a psychoanalyst who achieves some success in bringing Stanley around to being able to interact with women including after nearly twenty years his wife Katharine In the end though the patient reverts to abnormal behavior and Katharine sues unsuccessfully in court to obtain full control over Stanley s care where for the duration she has shared it with the McCormicks Riven Rock probes male female relationships the nature of psychiatric care as it existed in the early twentieth century and the crazy mix of classes and ethnicities that is modern America It also shows above all how much is to be gained by giving literary treatment to historical characters and events an exercise that Boyle repeats in The Women and other of his works Book information editRiven Rock by T C Boyle Hardcover ISBN 0 670 87881 2 First edition February 1 1998 published by Viking Press Paperback ISBN 0 14 027166 X January 1 1999 published by Penguin BooksReferences edit Dennis Rodkin 2 April 1998 The Exceedingly Strange Case of the McCormick Sex Machine Chicago Reader Retrieved 18 August 2020 External links editT C Boyle official web site Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Riven Rock amp oldid 1217163322, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
