false 1833852 17 Martin Dean spent his entire life analyzing absolutely everything, from the benefits of suicide to the virtues of strip clubs versus brothels. Now that he's dead, his son Jasper can fully reflect on the man who raised him in intellectual captivity, and the irony is: theirs was a grand adventure. As he recollects the extraordinary events that led to his father's demise, Jasper recounts a boyhood of outrageous schemes and shocking discoveries&#8212;about his infamous and long-dead criminal uncle, his tortured and mysteriously absent European mother, and Martin's constant losing battle to make a lasting impression on the world. It's a story that takes them from the Australian bush to the cafes of bohemian Paris, from the Thai jungle to labyrinths, mental hospitals, and criminal lairs, from the highs of first love to the lows of rejection and failed ambition. The result is an uproarious indictment of the ridiculousness of the modern world and its mores, and the moving, memorable story of a father and son whose spiritual symmetry transcends all their many shortcomings. With rights sold around the world, <i>A Fraction of the Whole</i> is poised to be one of the most talked-about fiction discoveries of the year. 1833795 book 2006 A Fraction of the Whole total:1086|5:336|4:416|3:230|2:77|1:27| 1086 4215 2553 387 5 12 true false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 07:54:21 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 08:01:28 -0800 2008 A Fraction of the Whole starts good, stays good for five hundred pages and three continents, is laugh-out-loud funny throughout, at certain points made my jaw drop in astonishment/horror, contains so many beautiful passages (you know the kind where you go yes! that's s...more...]]> 5 7 false false Fri Aug 29 11:30:03 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 29 11:31:37 -0700 2008
One comes up a bit short trying to describe "A Fraction of the Whole." True, the book deals with the relationship of an eccentric father and son, but it is about that only in the way the "Confederacy...more...]]> 2 8 false false Thu Jan 24 06:16:17 -0800 2008 Fri Apr 25 16:04:55 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Sat Aug 09 22:43:14 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 19 23:37:04 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 3 false false Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 27 13:44:18 -0800 2008 Mon Aug 04 08:30:53 -0700 2008 2 2 false false Tue Jan 27 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Dec 15 06:27:39 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 27 19:39:38 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Aug 19 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 06:42:34 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 06:43:06 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 4 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 13 13:31:42 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 25 18:18:20 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 08 12:04:16 -0700 2009 Fri May 01 14:06:30 -0700 2009 A Fraction of the Whole is long, engrossing, scary-funny, sad, horrifying, profane, profound, provocative in all the best ways. A convoluted plot with vividly strange characters whose lives I actually cared about even when I could ...more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sun Jan 11 20:47:28 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 11 20:48:07 -0800 2009 more...]]> 1 2 false false Tue Dec 23 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 09:53:18 -0800 2008 Wed Dec 24 09:53:18 -0800 2008 5 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 18 15:36:29 -0800 2007 Mon Jan 21 21:16:25 -0800 2008 4 2 false false Wed Jan 07 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 25 12:18:51 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 07 18:22:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Dec 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 19 15:06:50 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 13:58:53 -0800 2009 1
I like it for the same reason I like some of Neal Stephenson's books: it's chock-full of quirky characters, striking juxtapositions, and ideas that will give your brain a tickle. Like Stephens...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 19:02:03 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 12 14:50:13 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Mon Feb 04 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 11 09:43:16 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 13 06:16:02 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 2 false false Sun Nov 04 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Oct 03 06:43:12 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 26 18:11:47 -0700 2008
The protagonist Martin Dean on Europe:
"Paris-perfect city to be lonely & miserable in.
O London! You grisly town! You cold gray cloud! You low-lying layer of mist & fog. You dense moan.
And Rome? Full of sexual predators who live with their...more...]]> 1 1 false false Tue Jan 20 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 11:47:48 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 14:56:23 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 20:14:50 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 20:32:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Jan 01 08:52:18 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 10 10:30:06 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3544465