Book Review: ‘When the Killing’s Done’ by T. C. Boyle

Book: When the Killing’s Done by T. C. Boyle
Reviewed by: Liz Wyckoff

When I was a teenager, I killed a squirrel and watched it come back to life. I remember it clearly: the little guy prancing determinedly into my slow-moving car’s path, the enormous crabapple held gleefully in its mouth, my view in the side mirror of its body lying on the pavement after I’d braked. I sat there for a few seconds, stunned, beginning to process the horrible fact that I may have just ended a life, when all of a sudden—I swear—the squirrel stood up. He looked around, dazed, as if he’d thought he was dead himself, before scampering off to the other side of the street. I’m pretty sure the crabapple never even left his mouth.

This encounter with the squirrel and my accompanying emotions (panic, powerfulness, guilt, relief) encompass exactly what’s at the heart of T.C. Boyle’s newest novel, When The Killing’s Done. On one level, it’s a novel about animals—the different circumstances that compel us to destroy some and protect others. But on another level, it’s about human survival—what affects our desire to defend one human being and to wish for the death of another. The book also urges us to consider how far a person will go to save herself when her own life is threatened.

Boyle, a true master of character development, provides us with two wonderfully complex main characters in this novel. Alma Boyd Takesue, a Projects Coordinator for the National Park Service, is passionate about protecting species native to the Channel Islands off the coast of Santa Barbara, like the spotted skunk and the dwarf island fox, and is willing to poison hundreds of thousands of black rats (an invasive species) in order to accomplish that task. David LaJoy, a founding member of the FPA (For the Protection of Animals) and PETA enthusiast, believes just as strongly—if not more so—in every animal’s right to life, even black rats. Herein lies the beauty of Boyle’s writing. Whatever non-discriminatory animal-loving side of you that is drawn to David will be repulsed by his aggressive, temperamental, purely awful personality. But the part of you that sympathizes with Alma’s gentle demeanor will be equally disgusted by her approval of the slaughter of innocent animals. It’s impossible not to become invested in these counterpointed characters, and impossible not to feel your sympathies changing as the novel progresses—the sign of a very skilled author, indeed.

One warning: this isn’t a novel for those with sensitive stomachs. Boyle’s fictional scene involving a car and a squirrel is way more gruesome than the one I mentioned above. And things get much gorier as the stakes are raised. But this novel is just as entertaining, just as packed full of gorgeous sentences, and just as emotionally engaging as the rest of Boyle’s backlist. You’ll learn more about the history and geography of the Channel Islands than you ever imagined you could. You’ll question your own ethics regarding animal protection and human interference in ecosystem management. And you’ll reflect on those moments we’ve all experienced—a moment when you, too, saw some person or animal sit up, shake their head, and scamper off, happy to be alive.

Join BookPeople and American Short Fiction when we welcome T. C. Boyle to BookPeople to speak aboue & sign When the Killing’s Done on Monday, March 19, 7p. We’ll have beverages on hand courtesy of Saint Arnold Brewing Company.