American novel, set in Southern California in the first quarter of the 20th century, when oil exploration was expanding. Oil wells are appearing, rapidly transforming the landscape of almost worthless farmland into large oil fields.
The main character is James Arnold Ross Jr., nicknamed Bunny, son of an oil tycoon. Driven by his natural empathy, he tries not to displease anyone. In this way, he sympathizes with the oil workers and with the labor movement, and throughout the story, various socialist, anarchist, communist, and trade unionist tendencies parade by.
Bunny belongs to a wealthy class, where people live in greed for money, self-interest, and appearances, and where there is no morality: there are several episodes of bureaucrats and politicians being corrupted, even going so far as to buy a president. The women in this society are no better: from lovers who do not want to marry, to deliberately getting pregnant to trap a lover and having an abortion.
In contrast, Bunny tries to be honest amidst all this: he counts honest people among his friends, people who live by their work; he strives to study and learn, avoiding involvement in his father's business; he does not seduce girlfriends, but rather the opposite; he seeks dialogue among everyone and helps various people in need.
The book is very well written. It is a good political and social satire, showing the character of different social groups. There are some intimate scenes, but they are not descriptive.
The beginning of the novel served as a loose inspiration for Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 film There Will Be Blood.