*A Fraction of the Whole, by Steve Toltz

Oh dear God. Sometimes a book comes along that you don't want to see end, and this is one of them. Especially today. I'm sitting smack in the middle of tropical storm Fay's backlash, hoping that the coconuts on my palm trees don't fly off and become ballistic missiles that may smash into my any of my neighbors' homes. It's dark and stormy and the wind is making this incredible noise -- in short... a perfect reading day. I finished this book at breakfast this morning and was actually bummed when I read the last words, wishing that it could go on just like this storm.

Don't take offense if you read this and find yourself here, but a lot of people have complained about the length of this book and to them I say, well, you either bought it or got it at the library, so why didn't you leave it on the shelf after you noticed it had more than 500 pages? And truthfully, you don't know what you missed. It is truly a book you're not going to forget because it is that good.

my humble review in brief:
I am simply blown away by the fact that this is Steve Toltz's first novel. This is one book where size doesn't matter: the 500 + pages literally flew in no time. I just started this the day before yesterday, and if silly things like sleep and family (not to mention preparing for a tropical storm) didn't get in the way, I'm sure I would have finished it yesterday.

I cannot, absolutely cannot do this book justice so I won't go into plot details, etc, but suffice it to say that this is undeniably one of the best books I have read this year. It is a nonstop ride that makes forays (in a most politically incorrect way (yay!) ) into pretty much all areas of life in one of the most creative sessions of writing I've ever experienced. It begins as a tale of good intentions gone very very badly, and then you're hooked because you absolutely must stay with it to find out how it's all going to end.

I predict only great things for this author. He looks at life from a fresh perspective and his writing is simply exquisite. I loved this book, and can very highly recommend it. I know I'm going to want to reread it at some point -- it's that good.

As an aside, the Booker judges are going to have their work cut out for them this year...kudos to them for putting it on the longlist.