|  I really can’t say enough about Steve Toltz’ first novel Fraction of the Whole (14.95). Really…I can’t! It’s a unique father/son story that sets off in Australia, rolls across several continents, and manages to never lose its way. This is a dysfunctional family of the highest dark comedy order…we’re talking comas, prisons, fires, philosophical conundrums, a real life Heart of Darkness (sort of!), celibacy, sex (oops…whose mother was that?)…yep! Toltz has written a funny, sad, smart novel…it made me think of Mark Twain, Confederacy of Dunces, maybe John Irving…but this is a classic that stands in its own unique space. Prepare for a few sleepless nights!
 The first time I saw Brad Warner’s name was in the early 80’s on the album notes for a raucous punk rock band called 0DFx—“Drop the A-Bomb on Me” anyone? Well, imagine my surprise years later when I saw his name again, this time as an author and Zen master. What? His first book, Hardcore Zen, was a hip, honest look at how he became interested in Buddhism, his second, Sit Down and Shut Up, continued in that vein and got into a lot more of the philosophy and practice of Zen. Now he has a third book, Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate (14.95) that gives us a glimpse of how his philosophy works in real life. It covers the year in which his mom died, he divorced, and he lost an important job. This isn’t a heavy exploration of Dharma…more like one guy’s year in Hell and how Zen helped him through it. Warner is straight up and conversational…I feel like I’m catching up with an old friend (who you sometimes want to bop upside the head!).
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