Today on WKAR’s Current State, I reviewed the new novel by Steve Toltz, Quicksand. I hope you like it!

You can listen to my review here: http://wkar.org/post/book-review-steve-toltz-s-quicksand

If you would rather read my review, you can do so below.

Hey, did you know Current State has a podcast? If you subscribe, you can download episodes and segments (and you can find me every other Thursday). Here is a link to find it on iTunes- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wkar-fm-current-state/id594609653?mt=2

If you want to check out Quicksand, you can find it on amazon here. If you want to check out my other book reviews for WKAR’s Current State, you can do so via links on this page.

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Book Review: Quicksand by Steve Toltz

“Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” For the last few weeks I’ve been haunted by this quote from famous filmmaker and comedian Charlie Chaplin. And I have never seen it play out as well as in Steve Toltz’s latest novel Quicksand.

When you start reading Quicksand and meet its main character Aldo Benjamin, you can’t help but think you are reading a comedy. So much of what he says is witty and playful, but with a very sharp edge. He is in his 40’s, handicapped, and has recently done time in prison. His friend Liam is a cop and a struggling writer who dreams of creating an important novel. He believes he has found that epic in the life story of his friend Aldo. And for good reason, too.

Aldo has had a very unlucky life. He’s basically the human embodiment of Murphy’s Law. If something bad can happen, it will happen to Aldo. He’s falsely prosecuted for a sex crime. He also struggles as an entrepreneur and has one ridiculous idea after another, like renting out spare rooms to hoarders. It all makes for some great artistic fodder. While Liam dreams of turning his friend’s life into a great novel, Aldo’s love interest Stella takes inspirations from his experiences, too. The struggling folk singer scribbles down Aldo’s quotes which then find their way into her song lyrics.

The reason I keep returning to that famous Chaplin quote is that when we begin the story we are in that long shot. We can laugh at Aldo and enjoy his character’s quirks. But with each page Toltz zooms in closer and closer until finally the novel moves into Aldo’s own voice. When he takes over his story, it is in the form of the transcript from his murder trial. Aldo’s ex-lover Mimi has been found dead and Aldo is pleading his case. And just like that, all the comedy is lost. Nothing is funny anymore. We see Aldo for the broken person he is, in both soul and body.

It’s rare you that you pick up a contemporary book so bent on an in-depth character study. Every bit of the action and story is driving the character development. From his mountains of debts to some very painful and explicit experiences during his time in prison, every one of Aldo’s mistake is there for our scrutiny. It’s shocking how guilty a reader can feel for giggling during the earlier pages of the book.

Quicksand, and the story of Aldo, is painful to read. But it’s also hard to look away from the trainwreck of Aldo’s life. You just want happiness for him, something to go his way, but that’s not the world Toltz has created around Aldo. Some readers might find the book boring in parts because Aldo and Toltz can both get a little longwinded, but I found it fascinating. I like to imagine Charlie Chaplin would have agreed.

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New book! New book! New book!

My latest novel Permanent Spring Showers was just published by 5 Prince Books. You can find out more about my novel as well as my other books (including A Jane Austen Daydream and My Problem With Doors) and grab a copy via my author page on Amazon.com here.