Review: THE INNER CIRCLE by TC Boyle

TC Boyle is one of my favorite authors, but I have to say…this was not my favorite of his books.  The topic was interesting, based on the true story of the Dr. Kinsey, the famous sex researcher, and his team.  The writing was sharp and precise, fitting the voice of the narrator.  But somehow, the book was…flat. 

The Inner Circle is told from the point of view of John Milk, a low-level researcher on Kinsey’s team at the University of Indiana.  He tells the tale of how the ground breaking research was conducted, including filming of live sex acts and taking thousands and thousands of sex histories—all very racy stuff in the 1940’s.  At first, the secrecy in the group is necessary to protect the integrity of the project, but as the project challenges the social mores, Milk finds himself questioning his own morals and lowing his inhibitions. 

This blog post is one of the hardest I’ve ever had to write, because I have nothing to say about this book.  The sex was clinical and cold.  The climax could be seen a million miles away, so by the time it happened, I was impatient and bored.  The methods Kinsey used for his ground breaking research were interesting, but not enough to carry this long of a book.  Boyle is a genius of a writer, but The Inner Circle is far from his best work. 

Overall, I give The Inner Circle…

Plot – 1 ½ bookmarks

Character Development – 2 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Adam Brody (John Milk), William H Macy (Dr. Kinsey), James Franco (Corcoran), January Jones (Iris), Sela Ward (Mack), Megan Fox (Betty)