The Book Tower

Whole Lotta Love

Tuesday January 6, 2009 in books read 2009 |

For quite a while, I’d reserved a five star rating for A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. How better to start the new year than with a top notch recommendation? But now I’ve finally reached the end of the novel the number of stars has slipped to four, possibly three. The reason for this was the book’s immense length at just over 700 pages, and whilst I found Toltz a gifted and extremely amusing writer I also found the closing few chapters a struggle to get through.

The novel follows the Australian Dean family and is delivered largely from the viewpoint of Jasper Dean, looking in particular at his relationship with his father Martin. Plagued by eccentricity and occasional mental illness, Martin is prone to acts of delusion (whether it’s building a series of complex mazes around his house or devising schemes to create lottery millionaires, Martin is up for the challenge). Equally oddball is Martin’s late brother Terry, a promising sporting hero in his youth who descends into criminal activity and eventually becomes an infamous celebrity. The novel is primarily a comic one although it is peppered with bizarre scenes of death; the suicide of a teacher and his son at a cliffside school, the suicide of Jasper’s mother amidst rival smuggler warfare, Terry Dean’s own apparent end in a prison fire and Martin’s death as a seabound fugitive smuggled back into Australia. Indeed, the only character who survives without physical harm is Jasper, although events leave an understandably indelible scar on his mind.

Jasper’s narration is often interrupted by the voice of Martin in the forms of a long monologue describing his early experiences of Terry, extracts from a secret journal found at the back of a wardrobe and the opening of an unpublished autobiography. It’s an interesting device to keep the story fresh, although like many novels with alternating narrators this one failed slightly because all voices sounded the same; ultimately the voice of Steve Toltz. It’s a good voice, although at times I forgot whether it was father or son I was listening to, and ultimately (and unfortunately) I realised I didn’t care enough for the Deans as much as I was supposed to.

There’s also an oddness to The Fraction of the Whole in its depiction of love and sex, and whilst it deals very well with the lost love of a father, it deals very strangely with love and relationships with women. Prostitutes, strip bars and indifference to sex are placed liberally throughout the book, and if the male characters in the story are unusual, the female players are stranger still and I found Toltz painting them with rather cavalier brushstrokes. This is a shame, although the author can always argue that he’s mostly looking at the world through the eyes of the slightly unhinged.

A Fraction of the Whole is a gargantuan work of fiction and Toltz almost gets away with delivering such a long piece. At its best there are some wonderful set pieces and hilarious episodes. But for a first novel it’s just way too ambitious, and the last few chapters gave a sense of laziness, as if the author was tiring of the book as well. That’s a shame too, but I’ll no doubt look out for his next effort, especially if it’s delivered at a more reasonable length.

Comments [2]

The Next Doctor

Friday January 2, 2009 in doctor who | television

The Next Doctor was the fourth Doctor Who Christmas special to star David Tennant. It was also the most restrained, and left me feeling less over indulged than other years. Whilst previously alien ships over London, giant spider women and a space Titanic featuring Kylie Minogue had me feeling as much bloated on tv sci-fi as I was on Christmas pudding, The Next Doctor at least allowed some breathing space.

This year’s special received so much attention that you’ve probably been lost in the void (where Daleks and Cybermen are banished, although they have a horrible habit of escaping) if you’ve missed all of the hype and build up. A preview on Children in Need in November was followed by much speculation as to David Morrissey’s role in the grand scheme of things. Was he really taking over from Tennant?

I’m not giving anything away just in case you haven’t seen The Next Doctor yet. The clue, however, is in the widely available opening scene. As the two Doctors stand poised both with sonic screwdrivers in hand, have a closer look at what the Morrissey Doctor is actually holding… Russell T.Davies also manages to weave in some Who mythology and dash the hopes of the expectant fan. There’s a nice twist on the pocket watch theme from series three, and in one scene we get to see glimpses of all ten Doctors. Whether or not Morrissey is really a Time Lord, he’s still very good – and the Tennant Doctor gets a ride in the rather magnificent other Tardis.

As usual, I receive new Doctor Who adventures with mixtures of excitement and disappointment. Russell T. Davies writes the Two Doctors story very wonderfully, although he fails to deliver in the second half of the adventure when the large and loud sci-fi takes over. And I’m not sure if Davies, like all of his predecessors, really knows what to do with the Cybermen. And the 1850s setting does little more than make it appear seasonal. Although it’s buried somewhat, there is some comment on woman’s role in Victorian society; Morrissey states loudly to his companion that she should remain solely in a Seen and not heard role, and Dirvla Kirwan makes an excellent villain with a timely agenda. The graveyard scene with her dressed in red is memorable and effective. Scarlet clad evil ladies and Cybermen stomping through the snow go together rather well.

The recent Doctor Who at the Proms easily highlighted what the modern Who does successfully. Tugs on the emotional strings with music that tells you just when to stifle that tear (Tennant’s face of a thousand expressions helps with this), and over familiar monsters to scare the kids. I’m happy to go along with this, although I still wait impatiently for Steven Moffat to step into Davies’ shoes and take the show somewhere new and original. And reports say that we really do find out the identity of the next Doctor on January 3rd…

Comments [2]

Books Read in 2008

Tuesday December 30, 2008 in books read 2008 |

Here’s my complete list. Reading has unfortunately taken a backseat in this Singstar heavy seasonal period, although I have an ever growing list to tackle in January…