A Fraction of the Whole: Steve Toltz

I would never buy this book if it's not for the pretty cover, I don't even know the author. Other than the attractive retro looking design, the pink blob and spots are all embossed. It's very appealing to touch.

The basis of the story is this:

Meet Martin Dean: the man his country loves to hate, and his son hates to love. He spent his life analysing anything and everything, and imparting his self-garnered wisdom to his only son, Jasper. Only now that his father is dead can Jasper fully reflect on the man who raised him in his own extraordinary style, and realise that, for all its unstoppable lunacy, theirs was a great adventure.

This was the longest time I've spent reading any book, one month. I started before Chinese New Year and I've only finished it now. I am amazed I didn't give up on it. The reason I took such a long time reading this book was I have become a lazy reader. I read only before sleeping, thus managing at the most a couple of chapters every night.

Other than taking an abnormally long time to read and buying just because of its pretty cover, this book was amazing. Really.

Toltz has a completely different writing style from authors I'm familiar with. His writing was very opinionated, philosophical and highly sarcastic to the point of being refreshing. Every page contains quotes that inspired thought provoking insights. My personal favourite was this:

... you need to think yourself into the open, and the only way to do that is to enjoy not knowing whether you're right or wrong, play the game of life without trying to work out the rules. Stop judging the living, enjoy futility, don't be disillusioned with murder, remember that fasting men survive while starving men die, laugh as your illusions collapse, and above all, always bless every single minute of this silly season in hell.

This is a thick book, seven hundred pages containing crazy over-the-top characters that I'm not sure whether to like or not and an intricate plot with some of the most outrageous ideas plus some twists and ironies thrown in.

If you wanna read this book, try not to google it or find out about it on amazon.com. Read this without expectations and unprepared. Then it'll be like going on a roller coaster without any safety barriers. It's a deliciously wild ride.