Steve Toltz's fourth novel, A Rising of the Lights, offers a satirical and darkly humorous take on the male loneliness epidemic. The story follows Russell 'Rusty' Wilson, a miserable misogynist on a quest for redemption, whose life is marked by absurd misfortune and bitter isolation.
The novel opens with Rusty's parents rolling dice to split their twin children during a divorce. After winning him, Rusty's mother announces a move from Sydney to Melbourne, only to deem it 'too much hassle' and return him to where he started. This arresting opener sets the tone for the following 300 pages of Rusty's life.
Decades later, Rusty is a 51-year-old former child therapist turned HR officer, now unemployed and recently cheated on by his wife. His only deep connection is with his weird neighbour Dennis. Rusty's loneliness is reinforced by his deep bitterness towards happy people, and he blames his failures on others, including his ex-wife and societal changes.
Rusty's fortunes shift when he lands a job as a guidance counsellor at a Sydney private school. Though terrible at the work, he inflicts his trauma on students, but the role opens him to new forms of community and connection. Toltz's prose is lively and dynamic, filled with original metaphors, though Rusty's misogyny often falls flat and lacks resolution.
Ultimately, A Rising of the Lights is a bitingly funny exploration of life's misfortunes and a surprisingly moving ode to human connection, even as it struggles to engender empathy for its protagonist.
