Disappointingly, Steve Toltz didn't win the Man Booker Prize for A Fraction of The Whole
October 18th 2008 03:42
Big books scare me. Anything teetering towards the 400 page mark gives me indigestion, the way any kind of commitment tends to. If a book looks like it could assist a small person to reach the top shelf, if it so happened to be at hand, I generally don’t want to read it.
So perhaps I’ve been tamed. Or perhaps it’s just that this book is so fucking damn fine that you’re bloody sorry it’s only 711 pages, because if it were 7111 pages, you’d have read right to the end.
I’m harping on about Steve Toltz’s book A Fraction of the Whole, which if you don’t already know did not win the Man Booker Award this week, which is a mighty pity, because though I haven’t read any of the other books that were short listed for the prize, I can’t accept that there is another book out there (not even the winning book) as good as this one and as worthy of a big whopping cash prize.
Why do I love this book, let me count the ways.
1.Open it to any of its 711 pages, and you will find something there that will make you laugh out loud or wish that you had written that line. Here are just some examples:
‘To have a child is to be impaled daily on the spike of responsibility’
of a pregnancy: ‘spinal injury of my independence.’
‘When we finished the kiss she said laughing, ‘I can taste your loneliness – it tastes like vinegar.’
That annoyed me. Everyone knows loneliness tastes like cold potato soup.'
During sex: ‘to prolong the moment I thought of mass graves & syringes & gum disease.’
‘I wanted to leave the bed without waking her & looked around the room for an object within reach of same approximate density of my own body to replace myself w/ but could see only a coat rack which I discounted out of respect for my self-image.’
‘Conversation flowed like water down flushed toilet.’
Here is one of my favourite passages in the book:
'I saw all the dawns come up too early and all the middays reminding you you'd better get a hurry on and all the dusks whisper, 'I don't think you're going to make it,' and all the shrugging midnights say 'Better luck tomorrow.' I saw all the hands that ever waved to a stranger thinking it was a friend. I saw all the eyes that ever winked to let someone know their insult was only a joke. I saw all the men wipe down toilet seats before urinating but never after. I saw all the lonely men stare at department store mannequins and think, 'I'm attracted to a mannequin. This is getting sad.' I saw all the love triangles and a few love rectangles and one crazy love hexagon in the back room of a sweaty Parisian cafe. I saw all the condoms put on the wrong way. I saw all the ambulance drivers on their off hours caught in traffic wishing there was a dying man in the back seat. I saw all the charity givers wink at heaven. I saw all the Buddhists bitten by spiders they wouldn't kill. I saw all the flies bang uselessly into the screen doors and all the fleas laughing as they rode in on pets. I saw all the broken dishes in all the Greek restaurants and all the Greeks thinking, 'Culture's one thing, but this is getting expensive.' I saw all the lonely people scared by their own cats. I saw all the prams and anyone who says all babies are cute didn't see the babies I saw. I saw all the funerals and all the acquaintances of the dead enjoying their afternoon off work. I saw all the astrology columns predicting that one-twelfth of the population of earth will be visited by a relative who wants to borrow money. I saw all the forgeries of great paintings but no forgeries of great books. I saw all the signs forbidding entrace and exit but none forbidding arson or murder. I saw all the carpets with cigarette burns and all the kneecaps with carpet burns. I saw all the worms dissected by curious children and eminent scientists. I saw all the polar bears and the grizzly bears and the koala bears used to describe fat people you just want to cuddle. I saw all the ugly men hitting on all the happy women who made the mistake of smiling at them. I saw inside all the mouths and it's really disgusting in there. I saw all the bird's-eye views of all the birds who think humanity looks pretty active for a bunch of toilet-heads...'
If that's not enough to turn you on....
2. This book is clever and profound – you sense Toltz has read every philosopher and this is the distillation of a smart-thinker who has thought his thoughts properly, not sloppily, and delivered them with an exquisite condensation.
3. The plots are brilliant and funny – and they keep coming. I kept on thinking, ‘Stop Steve, you’re using up all your good ideas in one book – what are you going to do next?’ But clearly there is plenty where these came from. Some people are just excruciatingly prolific in this way.
4. It is unlikely in so many ways, the characters keep surprising you, and though they are horrible (murderers, drug smugglers), you are somehow endeared to them and want thing to turn out well for them.
5. It works – from beginning to end as a whole, despite all its fractions. That’s quite an achievement for a book of this length.
6. It’s adorable and irresistible, like your new best friend.
If you haven’t already read it, get it for the summer. I’ve recommended it to everyone I know and not a single person – despite vastly differing reading tastes – has been disappointed.
www.stevetoltz.com
www.joannefedler.com
So perhaps I’ve been tamed. Or perhaps it’s just that this book is so fucking damn fine that you’re bloody sorry it’s only 711 pages, because if it were 7111 pages, you’d have read right to the end.
I’m harping on about Steve Toltz’s book A Fraction of the Whole, which if you don’t already know did not win the Man Booker Award this week, which is a mighty pity, because though I haven’t read any of the other books that were short listed for the prize, I can’t accept that there is another book out there (not even the winning book) as good as this one and as worthy of a big whopping cash prize.
Steve Toltz's A Fraction of The Whole
Why do I love this book, let me count the ways.
1.Open it to any of its 711 pages, and you will find something there that will make you laugh out loud or wish that you had written that line. Here are just some examples:
‘To have a child is to be impaled daily on the spike of responsibility’
of a pregnancy: ‘spinal injury of my independence.’
That annoyed me. Everyone knows loneliness tastes like cold potato soup.'
During sex: ‘to prolong the moment I thought of mass graves & syringes & gum disease.’
‘I wanted to leave the bed without waking her & looked around the room for an object within reach of same approximate density of my own body to replace myself w/ but could see only a coat rack which I discounted out of respect for my self-image.’
‘Conversation flowed like water down flushed toilet.’
Here is one of my favourite passages in the book:
'I saw all the dawns come up too early and all the middays reminding you you'd better get a hurry on and all the dusks whisper, 'I don't think you're going to make it,' and all the shrugging midnights say 'Better luck tomorrow.' I saw all the hands that ever waved to a stranger thinking it was a friend. I saw all the eyes that ever winked to let someone know their insult was only a joke. I saw all the men wipe down toilet seats before urinating but never after. I saw all the lonely men stare at department store mannequins and think, 'I'm attracted to a mannequin. This is getting sad.' I saw all the love triangles and a few love rectangles and one crazy love hexagon in the back room of a sweaty Parisian cafe. I saw all the condoms put on the wrong way. I saw all the ambulance drivers on their off hours caught in traffic wishing there was a dying man in the back seat. I saw all the charity givers wink at heaven. I saw all the Buddhists bitten by spiders they wouldn't kill. I saw all the flies bang uselessly into the screen doors and all the fleas laughing as they rode in on pets. I saw all the broken dishes in all the Greek restaurants and all the Greeks thinking, 'Culture's one thing, but this is getting expensive.' I saw all the lonely people scared by their own cats. I saw all the prams and anyone who says all babies are cute didn't see the babies I saw. I saw all the funerals and all the acquaintances of the dead enjoying their afternoon off work. I saw all the astrology columns predicting that one-twelfth of the population of earth will be visited by a relative who wants to borrow money. I saw all the forgeries of great paintings but no forgeries of great books. I saw all the signs forbidding entrace and exit but none forbidding arson or murder. I saw all the carpets with cigarette burns and all the kneecaps with carpet burns. I saw all the worms dissected by curious children and eminent scientists. I saw all the polar bears and the grizzly bears and the koala bears used to describe fat people you just want to cuddle. I saw all the ugly men hitting on all the happy women who made the mistake of smiling at them. I saw inside all the mouths and it's really disgusting in there. I saw all the bird's-eye views of all the birds who think humanity looks pretty active for a bunch of toilet-heads...'
If that's not enough to turn you on....
A Fraction of The Whole
2. This book is clever and profound – you sense Toltz has read every philosopher and this is the distillation of a smart-thinker who has thought his thoughts properly, not sloppily, and delivered them with an exquisite condensation.
3. The plots are brilliant and funny – and they keep coming. I kept on thinking, ‘Stop Steve, you’re using up all your good ideas in one book – what are you going to do next?’ But clearly there is plenty where these came from. Some people are just excruciatingly prolific in this way.
4. It is unlikely in so many ways, the characters keep surprising you, and though they are horrible (murderers, drug smugglers), you are somehow endeared to them and want thing to turn out well for them.
5. It works – from beginning to end as a whole, despite all its fractions. That’s quite an achievement for a book of this length.
6. It’s adorable and irresistible, like your new best friend.
If you haven’t already read it, get it for the summer. I’ve recommended it to everyone I know and not a single person – despite vastly differing reading tastes – has been disappointed.
www.stevetoltz.com
www.joannefedler.com
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Comment by Jayne Kearney
Writers In Writing (and other writing)
I recently read an interview with this author and that alone turned me on, so I can't wait to meet my new best friend
But now I'll have to go Google to find out who DID win the Man Booker.
Jayne
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
Sorry, I realised as I posted this, that I ought at least to have acknowledged that
'Aravind Adiga, 33, won the 40th Man Booker prize on Tuesday night for his debut novel, “The White Tiger,” a vivid exploration of India’s class struggle told through the story of a village boy who becomes the chauffeur to a rich man.' It sounds fabulous too, but I have to say, it's going to take a lot to convince me it's better than A Fraction of the Whole.
Jo
Comment by Mister Smith
Random Ramblings
FILMENATOR
Crime in Books
I am taking a survey of Orble writers. I would like to get your opinions and experiences of using this site. I am very curious.
I got onto it in response to an ad for Writers -on Seek, I think- and mainly as a means of writing discipline. Setting up the blog was a bit of an ordeal. I wasn’t aware until after I had set up that I needed to also sign up with Adsense to actually get any payment. That was another ordeal but Orble helped by answering my questions/giving advice. Since the blog has been up and running they have ignored my messages.
I did some posts then began to wonder if it was all a bit of a scam. I cleared off my posts on Filmenator because I didn’t want someone else to be offered my blog if I left it unattended- just as I had been offered another person’s film blog, including their writing. As a means of research(I was still curious) I then started a new blog – Celebrity Gossip and posted some rubbish with titles that I thought might attract traffic
It seems that there is only a handful of members who regular post and seem to be in contact with each other and I know that some of them are Orble employees. This thing has pricked my naturally cynical nature. I would love to find out what others have experienced.
HOW did you find out about Orble?
WHAT is your experience using it?
IS IT what you expected?
IS IT good for expression/communication/
support/opinions/ideas/whatev er?
DO you get valuable feedback?
DO YOU have any desire for contact beyond online?
HAVE YOU made any income from it?
Does ANYONE know exactly how the income is generated?
ARE THERE bloggers employed by Orble – or On Topic Media?
Thanks ahead for your reply.
Teresa
(Mister Smith)
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
I think your questions would attract more responses if you post it separately and not as a comment on mine. Not sure the traffic on my site will get you answers.
Jo
Comment by Mister Smith
Random Ramblings
FILMENATOR
Crime in Books
I actually began by messaging individual 'writers' but reached my limit for the day and wanted to forge ahead while in the mood. Commenting to other people's posts was my option 2. My own blog is option 3. Your comments are much appreciated.
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
I'd love to read it and compare it to Catch-22, but I struggle to read a page per day of a book nowadays. I blame regular bowel movements.
This will keep me going for a while:
Comment by Joanne Fedler
Secret Writers Business
What about reading before going to sleep? Like, instead of tv?
It's really worth it, this book.
J
Comment by Lady Henrietta Muddling
Potter in a Harry
I'll let you know how I go after a strict diet of unrirpened green bananas.
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Comment by Anonymous
This is a GREAT book. Not in the modern sense of 'cool' but EXCELLENT!
I feel it is a life changing book - I sense it has changed me quite a bit.
I thought it was too long at times but when I got to the end I know it is just the right length - I needed some of the quiet times to rest.
Guy.
Comment by Lilla
Enviro Warrior
An Extra Ordinary Life
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Its now on my To Read List.
Lilla ...