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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
An irreverent comic adventure, spanning three continents, about a father and son against each other and against the world.
For most of his life, Jasper Dean couldn’t decide whether to pity, hate, love, or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who overanalysed anything and everything and imparted his self-garnered wisdom to his only son. But now that Martin is dead, Jasper can fully reflect on the crackpot who raised him in intellectual captivity, and what he realizes is that, for all its lunacy, theirs was a grand adventure.
As he recollects the events that led to his father’s demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries—about his infamous outlaw uncle, Terry, his mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin’s constant losing battle to make a lasting mark on the world he so disdains. It’s a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafés of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to strip clubs, asylums, labyrinths, and criminal lairs, and from the highs of first love to the lows of failed ambition. The result is a wild rollercoaster ride from obscurity to infamy, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings.
A Fraction of the Whole is an uproarious indictment of the modern world and its mores, and the epic debut of the blisteringly funny and talented Steve Toltz.
Notes
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Dedication: To Marie
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Chosen as one of the Conversation's best Australian books of the 21st century
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
Works about this Work
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12 Books Every Australian Should Read
2016
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Geographic [Website] , February 2016; 'Take a literary journey to the interior with these 12 must-read Australian books, representing a cross section of Australian literature, meditating on landscape, history and what makes us Australian.' -
Books That Changed Me : Claire Varley
2015
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sun-Herald , 16 August 2015; (p. 12) -
Reconfiguring 'Asian Australian' Writing : Australia, India and Inez Baranay
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 70 no. 3 2010; (p. 11-29) Mapping South Asian Diasporas 2018; (p. 250-267) -
Repeat Offenders
2010
single work
criticism
— Appears in: Meanjin , Spring vol. 69 no. 3 2010; (p. 142-148) -
A Brilliant Way with Words
2009
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 May 2009; (p. 26-27)
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[Review] A Fraction of the Whole
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: Bookseller + Publisher Magazine , February vol. 87 no. 6 2008; (p. 36)
— Review of A Fraction of the Whole 2008 single work novel -
Energy and Drive in Wild Kaleidoscope
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 1 March 2008; (p. 15)
— Review of A Fraction of the Whole 2008 single work novel -
Out of the Ordinary
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 8 March 2008; (p. 12)
— Review of A Fraction of the Whole 2008 single work novel ; Addition 2008 single work novel -
Saga of Dysfunctional Males Weighs Heavily
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 8-9 March 2008; (p. 10-11)
— Review of A Fraction of the Whole 2008 single work novel -
Tom Jones Down Under
2008
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Literary Review , March vol. 3 no. 2 2008; (p. 20)
— Review of A Fraction of the Whole 2008 single work novel -
Three Men and a Legacy
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 16-17 February 2008; (p. 28-29) -
What's Reality Got to Do with It
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Age , 1 March 2008; (p. 26-27) -
Debut is Just the Job
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 12 April 2008; (p. 13) -
Two Australians on Man Booker List
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 31 July 2008; (p. 3) -
Australia's Booker Double-Entry Bid
2008
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 31 July 2008; (p. 12)
Awards
- 2010 longlisted International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
- 2009 shortlisted Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Writing (UK)
- 2009 joint winner The Sydney Morning Herald Best Young Novelist of the Year
- 2009 winner New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — People's Choice Award
- 2009 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Christina Stead Prize for Fiction
- New South Wales,
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Paris,
cFrance,cWestern Europe, Europe,
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cThailand,cSoutheast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
- Pacific Ocean,
- Bush,
- Urban,
- 1946-2005