PenguinReaders' Group
 

Author Book Choices

A Fraction of The Whole

We asked our Featured Author, Steve Toltz, author of A Fraction of The Whole, to recommend three books to our readers.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar by Roald Dahl

Roald Dahl wrote some of his brilliant books for children, and others for adults. Then there’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, which rests somewhere in between. I first read it when I was nine. Then again at fifteen, at twenty-two, at twenty-nine, and I plan to read it again this year. Dahl has my vote as the twentieth century’s greatest story-teller, and this is one of my favourite books (with My Uncle Oswald trailing closely behind).

Serenade by James M. Cain

Every reader (and writer) should go through a James M. Cain phase – starting with The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity, and then, just when you think you know his shtick – read Serenade, and get ready for a surprise. It’s not a perfect book, but Cain’s gritty voice in an utterly unpredictable story-line is pure pleasure.

The Books in My Life by Henry Miller

While some authors hide or even deny their direct influences, Henry Miller always shouted his from the rooftops. This book is one such prolonged celebratory shout. Alongside lists on books that have influenced him, chapters on theatre, on ‘living books’ and on reading in the toilet, the true gems are his enthusiastic and passionate essays on his favourite writers such as Jean Giono, Krishnamurti and Blaise Cendras. I only wish all writers would leave such an important and intimate document behind.