Fractions from the hammock

A couple of weeks ago, I managed to finish Steve Toltz’s sweeping novel about the Dean family. At just over 700 pages  long, this blockbuster was as varied as the endless Australian landscape: sad, poignant, cynical and very funny.

I enjoyed this debut novel by the Australian writer Steve Toltz.

Here’s a taster!

“I think that’s the real loss of innocence: the first time you glimpse the boundaries that will limit your potential.”

“The game is an analogy for life: there are not enough chairs or good times to go around, not enough food, not enough joy, nor beds nor jobs nor laughs nor friends nor smiles nor money nor clean air to breathe…and yet the music goes on.”

“What a nasty act of cruelty, giving a dying man his last wish. Don’t you realize he doesn’t want it? His real wish is not to die.”

“Let’s not mince words: the inside of the Sydney casino looks as if Vegas had an illegitimate child with Liberace’s underpants, and that child fell down a staircase and hit its head on the edge of a spade.”

Although The White Tiger won the Booker Prize in 2008, this book – in my opinion – was a strong contender.