A Fraction of the Whole - Hardcover

Toltz, Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385521723 ISBN 13: 9780385521727

Publisher: Spiegel & Grau, 2008

Synopsis

Meet the Deans

“The fact is, the whole of Australia despises my father more than any other man, just as they adore my uncle more than any other man. I might as well set the story straight about both of them . . .”

Heroes or Criminals?
Crackpots or Visionaries?
Families or Enemies?

“. . . Anyway, you know how it is. Every family has a story like this one.”

Most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalyzed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure.
As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafes of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a rollicking rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.
A Fraction of the Whole is an uproarious indictment of the modern world and its mores and the epic debut of the blisteringly funny and talented Steve Toltz.

About this title

Review:

Brilliantly read by both actors to make you mourn as much as laugh, this David Copperfield Down Under on speed with son is an epic in every sense, including length. But don't be tempted, even if there is one, to get an abridged version. Every macabre detail, every chaotic incident, every wisecrack is an essential fraction of the whole. Heartfelt thanks to Whole Story Audio Books for getting this and half the other 2008 Booker shortlist out so quickly. To cut a single sentence would be criminal. -- --Sue Arnold, The Guardian

Utterly brilliant. --The Times

A grand achievement and the debut of a great comic talent... go away and read it. --The Sunday Times

About the Author:

resides in Sydney, Australia. A Fraction of the Whole is his first novel.

About this edition

• Publisher: Spiegel & Grau
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0385521723
• ISBN 13: 9780385521727
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 530