I had first heard of "A Fraction of the Whole" through a recommendation online, and through the sample I was allowed to read, I had to give it a shot, and I must say, it was absolute worth it.Without a doubt one of the best books i've ever read. Toltz is an absolute wizard of a writer in his very captivating, witty, dare i say inspired! sense of writing. A Fraction Of a Whole was truly a "couldn't put it down" experience for me. Often times I would fail to recognize that I had skimmed through 100+ pages in one sitting. For me personally, I never do this. The story of life through a father's eyes to his son may sound a bit drab, but this story is action-packed, lightning fast paced, and personally the most fun read i've ever had. Not to mention that it is also a very hilarious book, with quite heart. If you like your action/thriller with a lot of laughs, surely give this book a shot! Film critic Mark Kermode reckons that the worst films are those that have high hopes and could be brilliant, but turn out to stink. I started to think whether this applied to novels, too. Then I read Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole and found the reverse to be true. I thought the novel would be a good read, considering it was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, but it completely exceeded my expectations.Focusing on the bizarre, one-of-a-kind Dean family, the novel is an ambitious 700-page ride that never loses pace. It's both genuinely hilarious and incredibly wise - amongst some of the strangest nuggets and plot directions I've read (such as a handbook for crime, a character who genuinely collects their tears in a jar and how a character who scratches the protagonist's father's car in disgust at the wealthy becomes one of the most powerful and influential woman in Australia) the prose bursts with dark humour, farcical humour and wordplay. In many ways the novel has a similar effect to the best observational comedian you can think of - you read certain sentences and passages and are completely drawn in, completely immersed, because what has just been said feels so true, and nobody seems to have articulated it so humorously and plainly before.I can imagine some people dismissing this novel because of it being a little ridiculous, because some sections feel a little far-fetched. But I'd agree that elements are a bit ridiculous - at times very ridiculous - but as a reason to dismiss the novel I think it's quite weak. The story of this strange, eccentric family is a story unlike any other - one page you could be in the heat of an Australian bushfire, the next you could be in Thailand or Europe or a dingy publisher's office.This is one of the funniest 'comic novels' I've read, and is also laced with genuine tragedy and intelligent insight into what it is to be human, what it is to think philosophically, and maybe even buried in there somewhere what it takes to live a life with meaning.
What do You think about A Fraction Of The Whole (2008)?
Sometimes brilliant, some just meandering prose. All in all, a fairly interesting read.
—lieke1996
