Houyhnhnm fields of oats". The Houyhnhnms are rational, equine beings and are masters of the land, contrasting strongly with the Yahoos, savage humanoid creatures who are no better than beasts of burden, or livestock. Whereas the Yahoos represent all that is bad about humans, Houyhnhnms have a settled, calm, reliable and rational society. Gulliver much prefers the Houyhnhnms' company to the Yahoos', even though the latter are biologically closer to him. It is possible to interpret the Houyhnhnms in a number of different ways. One might possibly, for example, regard them as a veiled criticism by Swift of the British Empire's
The Lay of the Land in a bar. Frank's most redeeming moments as a character are in a lesbian bar where he waits for repair work on his Chevrolet Suburban, and when he gets shot in the chest by teenagers who have murdered his unlikable neighbors. In the end, Frank and Sally are flying to the Mayo Clinic to get the final word on his prostate. "The Lay of the Land" received largely—but not universally—positive reviews. Merle Rubin of "The Christian Science Monitor" commented that the book "bristles with energy, with a natural assurance on the part of its writer." "The Sydney Morning Herald" noted