Quicksand

Written by Steve Toltz

Narrated by Joel Davey

A daring, brilliant work by one of our most original and fearless novelists.

'Why should I let you write about me?'
'Because you'll inspire people. To count their blessings.'

Aldo Benjamin, relentlessly unlucky in every aspect of life, has always faced the future with despair and optimism in equal measure. His latest misfortune, however, may finally be his undoing. There's still hope, but not for Aldo.

His mate Liam hasn't been faring much better - a failed writer with a rocky marriage and a dangerous job he never wanted - until he finds inspiration in Aldo's exponential disasters. What begins as an attempt to document these improbable but inevitable experiences spirals into a profound exploration of fate, fear and friendship.

Anarchically funny and wildly entertaining, Quicksand is a subversive portrait of 21st-century society in all its hypocrisy and absurdity, an exquisite interpretation of suffering and resilience, and a powerful story about taking risks and finding inspiration.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: May 21, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473623774

Steve Toltz

Steve Toltz’s first novel, A Fraction of the Whole, was released in 2008 to widespread critical acclaim, and was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the Guardian First Book Award. Prior to his literary career, he lived in Montreal, Vancouver, New York, Barcelona, and Paris, variously working as a cameraman, telemarketer, security guard, private investigator, English teacher, and screenwriter. Born in Sydney, he currently lives in New York.

Reviews for Quicksand

[theelliemo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

There's some great writing in this book. There are moments of great humour, interspersed with great melancholy, a feature that often results in the best type of sitcom. Unfortunately, this book all takes its characters far too literally. For example, the narrator, Liam, admits that his friend Aldo can be boring - and indeed he can be! While much of his testimony is moving, parts of it are so dull I found myself almost skim-reading to be done with them. Liam claims at one point not to like plots - a trait perhaps he shares with Toltz.

There are moments of genius in this book, but there is also too much rambling, and the book is at least 30 pages too long - I found these last few pages unnecessary.

Maybe I'm not the right demographic; maybe I'm just too uncouth to appreciate this style; but after enjoying reading this for three-quarters of its length, I started to lose patience with it. Either it's too clever for me, or trying to be too clever for its own good.

[zmagic69 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was exhausting to grind my way through. I did not read the author's first book which seems to have received nothing but praise but this sophomore effort did not work at all for me. There is some brilliant writing and biting sarcastic, as well as outstanding observational wit, but sadly the story is not really about anything, at least not anything that warrants this many pages. It is as if the author forgot he had another book to turn in and figured "I am witty, I am creative, I have been told I am brilliant, I can turn in total crap and no one will notice". The story is about two total losers, Liam, and Aldo who have been friend since their middle teens. They are also horribly depressing. It is the type of book that reads better little bits at a time rather than straight through, but still there are huge arts where nothing happens. The book obviously worked for so people, but definitely not me.

[stephengoldenberg · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

There's a point towards the end of the book where Aldo says to Liam that he has a plot twist for him to use in the novel he's writing. Liam says it's no use to him as he doesn't do plots. This is Steve Toltz being ironic as there's virtually no plot in this novel. However, it's doubly ironic because, even minus a plot, he does introduce two twists to explain how Aldo becomes paralysed and ends up in prison for murder. The problem is, without the storyline, it's impossible to care or be gripped by these strange events.
Without a plot, the novel becomes 400 pages of aphorisms, clever word play and philosophising. I'll just open it at random and give you an example:

'he always despised dreams, even pleasant ones,for what he considered their tedious impenetrability and their shocking waste of creativity."

It's like being trapped for weeks on end with a 21st century Australian Oscar Wilde. Having said all that, and although I considered given up on it at times, I did read it all. I wouldn't recommend it but, if you do read it, it's best taken in small doses to just enjoy some of his wizardry with language.

[pomo58 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quicksand is a long strange trip that is well worth the many detours along the way. I imagine that ten reviews from ten different reviewers might make seem like each reviewed a different book. In some ways I think that would be fair to say. On the surface the story is mostly about Aldo and also about Liam to a large extent (though some might switch it the other way around).The strength of this book (and for some probably its weakness) is the lack of a definitive linear plot with a clear beginning, middle and end. Though it is not nearly as nonlinear as it might initially seem it is certainly not linear. There are also many tangents and ramblings. This is where, I think, the large variance in readings begins. Are the ramblings simply showing off the author's mastery of the language? Do they serve a narrative purpose? A character development purpose? Do they go overboard regardless of purpose? Is the tone dark and pessimistic? Dark and optimistic? Just dark? Should we find the things humorous that we do, if we do?How any one reader finds answers to these questions, and others, determines what book was read. I found the book to be very enjoyable and both thought- and emotion-provoking. I certainly glimpsed images of myself as well as other friends in certain comments and in certain moods. I also found the "ramblings" to very much serve to move the narrative along. This is a read that does require some effort and thought. I chose not to read it as I read, say, a crime mystery where the path is well worn and the clues are expected. To do so is unfair to both the reader and the book. That isn't to say this is a difficult book, it isn't, it simply demands attention be paid to what is said, how, and to whom. Though a completely different beast, this reminded me a bit of Gravity's Rainbow as far as the need to engage with the writing.I would recommend this to anyone interested in character studies (maybe abnormal psych? Just kidding, maybe) as well as anyone who simply enjoys reading the English language used almost like a character unto itself in a work.As a bit of an aside, I pondered the title Quicksand and found an explanation I feel comfortable with (after all, this review is about my version of this book). Quicksand can trap a person but generally doesn't actually kill a person. If one struggles, however, one finds that one will sink deeper and become less able to move. It is by relaxing and laying back that one can float and slowly get out. Similarly in life, the more one struggles blindly the more one seems consumed by the restrictions of life, but when we relax and work with the natural aspects we find it easier. Aldo, in many ways, learned this lesson, I think.Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads.