Un livre particulièrement jouissif et réussi. On en est à se prendre d'amitié pour les escrocs patentés. ( )

I am a superfan of T.C. Boyle's writing yet this one might be a Big Ask for the reader. It's a very long historical novel on the wellness fad back in the day, around 1907. Oh and it's satire, of course. Luckily with alternating chapters split between three characters, Dr. Kellogg himself, the master of multitasking and overachieving, Charlie Ossining, a man starting his own competing breakfast foods business, Will Lightbody, a patient at Dr. Kellogg's Battle Creek Sanitarium (oh and his wife Eleanor gets one chapter too.) Surprisingly, Post doesn't make much of an appearance, though Kellogg considers him a nemesis. But Dr. Kellogg has many other enemies closer to home. Really, any book written about Kellogg could have went in many different tangents, and really doesn't feature in most of this book anyway. But a book this long -- the three (four, really) main characters are the perfect balance, to really encompass the variety of people living during this time. But that satire! You have to forgive Boyle for loving the written word this much. He has fun. The satire in every sentence is like a slab of sheet cake with more and more layers of icing. I can take it for this many pages, but can many other readers? I enjoyed it anyway! The film is also a hoot, though makes some changes that (obviously) makes the book better. ( )

I read this years ago. Now, in 2022, I only recall liking it. ( )

It was alright! A bit too long for what it was...I found it dragging a bit. I did like the fictionalization of what it must have been like at the sanitorium with Dr. Kellogg, it seemed like it could have been true. ( )

con men and health seekers at Kellogg's famous sanitarium