Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: Interesting story, but sloppy writing

I've never read anything by TC Boyle before this book, so I can't compare this book with his previous works. However, I don't think you have to be familiar with his work to know that his writing seemed sloppy and rushed in "A Friend of the Earth." Boyle's writing style is flowery and verbose, and I think he should spend more of that energy on developing more of the characters and tidying up his storylines. None of these characters seemed worth caring about because they are so flat. I barely cared about the protagonist. I will say that I enjoyed reading about what Southern CA is like in the year 2025, and all of the descriptions of climate changes, erosion, and extinct animals. His blaring cynicism is humorous, but it's not enough to make me recommend this book as a good read.