Meet the Deans
"The fact is, the whole of Australia despises my
father more than any other man, just as they adore my uncle more than
any other man. I might as well set the story straight about both of
them . . ."
Heroes or Criminals?
Crackpots or Visionaries?
Families or Enemies?
." . . Anyway, you know how it is. Every family has a story like this one."
Most
of his life, Jasper Dean couldn't decide whether to pity, hate, love,
or murder his certifiably paranoid father, Martin, a man who
overanalyzed 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 cafes 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 rollicking 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.
