When the Killing's Done--T.C. Boyle

[covediver]

I was walking through the library the other day after returning the book, the Power of the Sea, when I spied the cover of T.C. Boyle's latest novel, When the Killing's Done. What drew me to it was the great shot of the Anacapa arch and east end of the island and the lighthouse. That is my favorite place in the world and the location from wence I take my screen name.

The novel has nothing to do with diving, although a couple of wrecks play a central role in the novel. The first is the wreck of the Windfield Scott, which introduces the rat to Anacapa Island.

The novel centers around the struggle between two central characters over the eradication of invasive species on Anacapa (rats) and Santa Cruz (pigs, goats, and golden eagles). Boyle has a way of making some characters sympathetic despite each one's flaws. It is a pretty good read. I recognized the places and some of the people that he is writing about. The history is pretty accurate without being overly intrusive (this is not a historic novel but plays out in contemporary times, both before and after the islands became a national park.

 

[drbill]

Having overseen the operations that removed feral goats from Catalina and came close to removing feral pigs, this might be an interesting read for me. I was V.P. of the Catalina Conservancy back in the 90s and the man I hired to run the ecological restoration department had managed Santa Cruz Island as well as work on the Hawaiian Islands.

 

[covediver]

Having overseen the operations that removed feral goats from Catalina and came close to removing feral pigs, this might be an interesting read for me. I was V.P. of the Catalina Conservancy back in the 90s and the man I hired to run the ecological restoration department had managed Santa Cruz Island as well as work on the Hawaiian Islands.

the story will probably be a familiar one to you. as I recall, efforts on all the islands to eradicate feral and invasive species have met with a certain response from the animal rights activists. that condition is the central conflict in Boyle's novel.