Books: Quicksand By Steve Toltz (2015)

"Liam is a struggling writer and a failing cop. Aldo, his best friend and muse, is a haplessly criminal entrepreneur with an uncanny knack for disaster. As Aldo's luck worsens, Liam is inspired to base his next book on his best friend's exponential misfortunes and hopeless quest to win back his one great love: his ex-wife, Stella. What begins as an attempt to make sense of Aldo's mishaps spirals into a profound story of faith and friendship."

Absurdity abounds in Steve Toltz second novel, as Quicksand is so much more than a dark satire about faith, fate and obligation to friends and what an artist owes his muse. Much like A Fraction of the Whole, this witty novel has a million weird thoughts and ideas that could fill out multiple books. It’s also about words and psychology of the human soul. It took me a while to really into it, start liking Aldo a bit more, like his ideas, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this not a book for everyone looking for a plot or even a story; again, it seems to be a jumble of weird, dark, funny ideas. But the one liner’s are pretty funny, and it can be very engrossing. Books like this are great when you have a bit of time on your hands, as you might feel the need to go back again and again to catch the sentence or actions again. I mean, everyone should take a chance with satire, even if Toltz can’t sustain it all the way through. But there are enough laugh-out-loud bits as it takes on the absurdity of our modern world and even (maybe) a fairly interesting conversation with God (?). So, yeah, it may not be a beach read, but it’s still a worthy novel to drown yourself in.